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You’re Beautiful: Episode 8

So good! Certainly still high on the angst factor, but still gets a lot of chuckles. It’s been a long time since I’ve felt this level of excitement and anticipation about a drama. There have been a few gems that I adore, which are excellent examples of quality dramas, but I think You’re Beautiful taps into something on a more gut level. The drama is less intellectual, for sure, but for what it is, it’s not only written well but also hits the right emotional buttons. Given the fan response, I have to think many would agree on that. The last drama to do that for me was… Coffee Prince, I think, and that was over two years ago. (Man I feel old.)

Also: Jang Geun-seok, you break my heart. In a good way.

SONG OF THE DAY

Loveholics – “아픔” (Pain). This is from the rock (now-)duo’s first album since losing Jisun, but I think that this song — courtesy of the vocals by Jang Eun-ah — actually recalls classic Loveholic the most.
[ Download ]

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EPISODE 8 RECAP

When Mi-nyeo races out of the studio in tears, Shin-woo chases immediately. Tae-kyung remains behind and asks Hoon-yi if something happened prior to the recording session. Hoon-yi says that he’d advised Mi-nyeo to let her emotions burst, and this is the result: “They’ve burst onto Kang Shin-woo!” (Oh, I love this. It’s too bad for Tae-kyung, but dramatically, it’s great.)

After sobbing all over him, Mi-nyeo apologizes to Shin-woo, then glances up and sees Tae-kyung. She leaves right away, prompting Tae-kyung to follow, but Shin-woo holds him back.

Shin-woo: “Don’t go. You should leave her alone.” They exchange intense stares, but Tae-kyung stays put.

Hoon-yi is relieved that Shin-woo’s explanation (that Mi-nam is stressed) shows that he hasn’t caught on to Mi-nyeo’s supposed feelings for him. But when he asks Tae-kyung what they should do now, the latter gets snippy. This isn’t his business. Tae-kyung walks away feeling peeved that Mi-nam’s feelings have “burst” for Shin-woo, and gripes that it’s absurd.

Mi-nyeo sits alone and prays, as her image slowly turns transparent: “Mother Superior, my feelings keep trickling out. I wish I could become invisible, so that my feelings won’t be discovered. If I gradually disappear, nobody will see me, right?”

But as she is about to fade completely (figuratively, in Mi-nyeo’s imagination), a voice calls her back to solid form. It’s Jeremy, sitting on a bench in front of her.

She asks, “Jeremy, can you see me?” Smiling, he answers, “Of course. I’ve been watching you for a while.” She sighs, “So I didn’t disappear because you were watching.”

He takes her hand and says, “You can’t disappear. You have to come with me to a party to celebrate your first recording.” She notes how much he likes to throw congratulatory parties, and he replies that congratulations are good things.

He can tell she’s feeling down, so he promises, “I’ll let you cry to your heart’s content.”

What does he mean by that? Spicy food!

Eating spicy Indian food gives Mi-nyeo (and Jeremy) an excuse to cry. Afterward, they eat ice cream to cool their tongues, and he announces that since that she’s had her cry, now it’s time for some laughs. Off to the arcade they go.

(Jeremy is so cute. I’m so glad they gave these two some bonding time. It’s also good to see Jeremy move beyond the comic relief into a more substantial role.)

Next, he takes her to his special bus; he’s letting her in on a secret. This bus is pretty empty and completes its circuit in one hour. When he’s depressed, he rides this bus, which allows time for his feelings to “return to normal.” She wonders if that’ll happen to her feelings, and he assures her, “Of course! My bus is a magic bus.”

He says, “Let’s meet in an hour,” then sits back to give her space.

As he watches her silently, Jeremy wonders to himself, “In an hour, will they return to normal? For an hour, I’ll like you, Go Mi-nam.”

(Awww.)

Mi-nyeo apologizes to Hoon-yi for running out. He is glad that she’s let out her emotions for the sake of the song, but she needs to learn how to manage them so they don’t get out of control. As a tip, he tells her about various pressure points that a person can press to “control” different reactions. You can touch your ears, hand, or temples to help endure things like temperature or sleepiness. For instance, when she has trouble managing her feelings, touch her nose.

Mi-nyeo takes the tip to heart and thanks him, leaving Hoon-yi feeling guilty for giving fake advice. But he figures that if she busies herself making that pig-face, at least her feelings won’t be discovered. (It’s a good thing for him that Mi-nyeo has a childlike trust, because as long as he gives Mi-nyeo an explanation, she’ll be distracted enough that the problem doesn’t hit crisis point. It’s the placebo effect.)

Tae-kyung reacts with some shock when he’s faced with Mi-nyeo’s pig-snout face. She’s just trying to tamp down her unruly feelings for him, but he thinks she’s mocking him about the pig chase in the previous episode. Not only is she like those detested rabbits, now she’s also playing the part of a pig.

He tells her, “Listen up, Pig-Rabbit.” He has been working on a plan: to tell Shin-woo that she’s a girl. She wonders why, and he answers, “Because I hear you like Shin-woo. Of course when I heard, I couldn’t believe it, but after thinking about it calmly, I saw the path. Go Mi-nam, I’m passing you over to Kang Shin-woo.”

She protests, “That’s not what it is. You have seen the wrong path.” Cutting her explanation short, Tae-kyung holds up a chart he has drawn:

In the Event You Confess to Shin-woo

The X’s indicate a bad result, the O’s a good one. As we can see, this works out nicely for Tae-kyung. lol.

  Accepts Doesn’t accept
Kang Shin-woo      X          X
Go Mi-nam      O          X
Hwang Tae-kyung      O          O

 
Table translation (In Tae-kyung’s words): “Case 1, he accepts you. You may feel sorry to Shin-woo but it’s good that you can get your feelings into the open, and I’ll be glad to be rid of you. Case 2, he doesn’t accept you. This is only good for me, but try hanging on to Shin-woo and begging him so this scenario doesn’t happen. If you only do that half as much as you did to me, you’ll be able to cling to Shin-woo. ”

Mi-nyeo mulls over the chart while telling herself that it’s good that Tae-kyung didn’t catch on to her true feelings, but on the downside, he’s totally misunderstood the situation.

She nervously hides the paper when Shin-woo comes by and makes the excuse that she’s folding paper airplanes. He knows she’s just trying to hide it from him, so he shows her how to fold it so the inside doesn’t show. He calls her clumsy, and relates another story of a clumsy girl who harbored “a really big secret.” She was so bumbling that she was actually discovered right away, but didn’t know it.

Shin-woo explains, “At first he was going to see how it played out. He was a very bored guy.” As he speaks, we see flashbacks of Shin-woo witnessing Mi-nyeo mucking up her boy impersonation.

For instance, Mi-nyeo had accidentally caused a ruckus by entering the ladies’ restroom. Shin-woo continues: “But the more he watched, he found that she was really bumbling. It was both funny and a little sad.” In another scenario, Sung-chan had pressed her to go to the sauna together (a guy-bonding thing), which Shin-woo saved her from by taking her to eat out instead. Shin-woo: “His eyes kept going to that girl, and it was the first time he’d had such an interest in anyone. And at some point, he started to help her.” When Mi-nyeo had struggled with equipment, he had taken the heavy case from her. When she nodded off in rehearsal, he swooped in to provide a shoulder for her to sleep on.

As they are speaking in generalities, Mi-nyeo has no idea they’re talking about her, and wonders why he didn’t tell the girl the truth. He answers that it was to preserve her peace, but he’ll explain his feelings when the time is right.

After he leaves, she thinks, “Shin-woo hyung is a good person. I can’t tell him.” She decides she’ll have to beg Tae-kyung to reconsider.

Meanwhile, Tae-kyung is unable to concentrate on his work, for which he blames Mi-nyeo. He scribbles her name on the sheet music as he vents, “She likes him so much she bursts into tears? So this is the accident she said she caused! I’d really better not let my guard down — that rabbit-like guy!”

Vexed, he wonders if she’d already confessed to Shin-woo and is sucking up to him now. That spurs him to look around the house for her, starting to feel concerned that she may have confessed. Thankfully for his pride, he’s spared from dealing with his jealousy (although he doesn’t recognize it as such) when Mi-nyeo texts him the plea, “Hyungnim, please don’t pass me off to Shin-woo hyung! I promise not to be a pain!”

I love that Tae-kyung’s uneasy frustration gives way to that self-satisfied smirk, because we all know he’s pleased to have regained his equilibrium, even if he doesn’t admit it. Therefore, when he returns to his room and sees Mi-nyeo buried under her covers, he acts put-upon despite feeling relieved.

He addresses the lumpy bedding on the ground, asking whether she’s intending to burden him with the truth, and whether she knows what a great inconvenience she is being to him. The lumpy pile nods its head to acknowledge this.

As he goes to bed, Tae-kyung sighs, “Ah, what a pain.” But he peers over to check on her, and half-smiles as he goes to sleep.

Meanwhile, the management team discusses their next move, which is to come up with a killer music video to showcase the song. Hoon-yi suggests getting Tae-kyung and Heyi to appear in it, and provides the story: an action-packed blockbuster!

In it, Tae-kyung (“lonely killer”) and Heyi (“sexy killer”) jet-set around the world on secret missions.

It’s definitely a Bond parody, but the Hong sisters get in a poke at their competition, too, with a nod at IRIS. Sung-chan vetoes the spy plot: “Just because you go abroad, blow stuff up and shoot guns doesn’t make it good!” HAHAHA.

The stylist suggests an erotic love story, but Sung-chan says no to that, too — he wants a young, fresh image. He strikes upon the concept: a first love that came and went “without a word.”

With the theme in place, the MV rolls into production with a high school setting. Mi-nyeo and Tae-kyung, who have roles in the video, are costumed in school uniforms. Tae-kyung is not looking forward to working with Heyi and instructs Mi-nyeo, “When Heyi gets here, stick to my side.” Thinking of her promise to not interfere, Mi-nyeo says she’ll stay away, but he insists she stay nearby.

During a shoot in a classroom scene, Tae-kyung notices an extra staring at Mi-nyeo. She ducks in alarm to recognize her brother’s best friend from high school. What to do? Tae-kyung advises her to greet him like a friend, but the problem is that Mi-nyeo can’t remember his name.

She pleads with Tae-kyung to help, so he finds himself reluctantly getting involved. He catches the extra in the hallway and tells him that since he kept looking at him, he must be a fan. He offers an autograph, which gives him an excuse to ask his name. Too bad the extra declines the offer politely. Tae-kyung glares and grits out: “Your. Name. Is?”

Hearing that his name is Kim Dong-joon, Mi-nyeo is able to greet him like an old buddy. Overjoyed, Dong-joon grabs her in a hug: “Do you know how sad I was, thinking you were ignoring me now that you’re a celebrity?” Yet when Dong-joon grabs her hand in an enthusiastic handshake, he notices that a scar — from a bike accident they experienced together — is gone.

Thinking fast, Tae-kyung tells Mi-nyeo that there’s no need to hide the surgery from a friend. She explains that she’d had a little work done before debuting, and Dong-joon says he understands.

She finds herself in a tricky situation when the director announces their last call for a bathroom break, and Dong-joon perks up. They can go pee together, for old times’ sake! After all, they’d used to bet who could pee farther.

Major lulz! Oh, Hong sisters, you sure do like your toilet humor!

Mi-nyeo turns pleading eyes to Tae-kyung to save her, so again he finds himself reluctantly stepping in. He takes the urinal on Dong-joon’s other side and distracts him with questions, so that he can’t notice that Mi-nyeo isn’t actually using hers.

Dong-joon isn’t really familiar with A.N.JELL’s music, but Tae-kyung has to keep distracting him, so he interjects, “You probably know this song,” and starts to sing “Promise.” Dong-joon recognizes the tune and picks up the chorus, while Mi-nyeo takes the cue and “finishes” up.

I love Tae-kyung’s muttered comment that if he had rid himself of Mi-nam, Shin-woo would probably have swooped in to save the day instead of him. No he’s not jealous, no not at all!

Next is a lunch scene. Mi-nyeo comments that her character is rich, so her lunch is yummy. Tae-kyung scowls as she points out, “Hyungnim, you’re a poor student so all you have are anchovies. I’d like to give you an egg roll, but it’s too bad I cannot.” She’s having fun taunting him and it is adorable.

Seeing her egg rolls, Dong-joon reminisces that they remind him of Mi-nam’s sister, since she liked them. Mi-nam used to gather them from schoolmates and give them to Mi-nyeo. Dong-joon: “I don’t like them, but that’s why I asked my mother every day to make me egg rolls. Because she would eat them.”

Tae-kyung smirks, saying that he must have liked her, then looks on in surprise when Dong-joon bows his head bashfully. Dong-joon admits, “I’m saying this now, but I used to really like your sister. I couldn’t say anything since she was my friend’s sister, but she was my first love.”

Dong-joon is heading off to the army tomorrow, and had thought a lot about Mi-nyeo: “Now that I’ve seen you, it’s like I’ve seen her.”

All the while, Tae-kyung watches the exchange with distaste and shoves food in his mouth grumpily. He’s further dissatisfied when Mi-nyeo reacts with sheepish pleasure to the revelation.

Tae-kyung’s displeasure grows after lunch, when Dong-joon asks if Mi-nam’s sister ever visits the house. When Tae-kyung confirms that he’s seen her, Dong-joon sighs, “Isn’t she beautiful?”

Tae-kyung replies, “Since you’re about to go to the army, try asking Go Mi-nam to let you meet her.” But Dong-joon says no — he’ll see her after he’s discharged. He’s studying pharmacy, and he plans to return to their hometown and set up a pharmacy there. He’ll seek her out then: “It’s my dream to marry early, set up a pharmacy, and live happily.”

Filming an outdoor scene next, Tae-kyung can’t resist mocking Mi-nyeo: “I didn’t know you were a future pharmacist’s wife.” She’d better send him vitamins and medicine later!

He’s pushing her buttons, so when the director tells them to act friendly, Mi-nyeo grabs some dry leaves and “playfully” tosses them at Tae-kyung’s head. Tae-kyung returns the gesture, and things escalate as both use the mock leaf-fight as an excuse to annoy each other. He wrestles her to the ground and continues tossing leaves on top of her.

At one point, though, Tae-kyung’s laughing goes from sarcastic to genuinely happy. Looking up at his smiling face, Mi-nyeo’s feelings start bubbling to the surface again, and she makes her pig-nose. Of course, this makes him think she’s mocking him again.

Heyi arrives on the scene and has to contend first with the persistent reporter, who is still sniffing around about the photo. He knows the woman in the picture isn’t Heyi and threatens to ask Mi-nam. Heyi intends to warn Tae-kyung about the reporter, but seeing his cozy interaction with Mi-nyeo makes her jealousy flare.

Heyi interrupts, fake-sweetly “congratulating” the two of them on their natural acting. She deliberately asserts a possessive air over Tae-kyung, which makes Mi-nyeo feel left out. She leaves while Tae-kyung tells Heyi to lay off.

She responds, “Why? You were good just now. Laugh like you did then. If your acting is good, I’ll give you a prize.” He replies, “That wasn’t acting.”

Tae-kyung leaves, and a miffed Heyi decides that she’d rather not warn him about Reporter Kim’s snooping after all.

Aunt Mi-ja meets the fan club members, offering them some of the A.N.JELL boys’ personal items like Jeremy’s face wash, Shin-woo’s razor. They’re disappointed that she couldn’t swipe something of Tae-kyung’s, but at least she can offer some gossip: Mi-nam is shooting a music video, and Tae-kyung will appear in it wearing a school uniform.

Aunt Mi-ja doesn’t quite see the A.N.JELL charm, though, and asks why they love the guys so much. Surely they’re not all that.

Blasphemy! Sayuri answers that if Aunt Mi-ja knew “the oppas’ legends,” she wouldn’t say that.

For example: Shin-woo’s “legend” shows him as a badass fighter who had once roared up to a gang of delinquents on his motorcycle and taken them on in a 17-to-1 fight.

(Note: This seems to be a riff on Lim Chang-jung’s famous line in the 1997 film BEAT, which popularized the “seventeen-to-one” phrase. The movie starred a young Jung Woo-sung; you can watch a clip here.)

Jeremy’s legend features him as the grandson of a Scottish aristocrat, and he was once engaged to a princess. He gave it all up to pursue music in Korea, which is, according to Sayuri, the princess’s loss but her gain!

Meanwhile, Tae-kyung’s legend speaks of a huge birth secret. This one has the ring of truth (to us), as she describes his mother as a beautiful, famous woman who is unknown to everyone except Tae-kyung and his father. Even his real birthday is a mystery to the public; the one that people know is just his “official” birthday.

As it turns out, his real birthday is actually today, which we find out when Tae-kyung’s father calls to wish him a happy birthday. Tae-kyung had forgotten and says that “today doesn’t mean anything to me.” Still, his father has sent him a gift from the States, which he should be getting in the mail today.

Heyi wanders around looking for Tae-kyung, and spies Mi-nyeo with Dong-joon. (She complains, “Is she pretending to be a guy just so she can hang out with guys?”) She figures she can have some fun bringing the reporter into this mess, and goes off to find him.

After Mi-nyeo signs Dong-joon’s shoe, he looks at hers and notices something weird about it. She doesn’t pick up on the reason why, and says her goodbyes before heading off with Tae-kyung.

As she walks away, however, she realizes what’s odd: Mi-nam and Dong-joon have the same size shoes, and her feet are much smaller than her brother’s.

Mi-nyeo runs back, but by now the reporter has found Dong-joon and is chatting with him. She realizes that Dong-joon will have figured out that she’s not Mi-nam, and they all exchange loaded looks, anticipating the moment when Dong-joon will announce that this isn’t Mi-nam.

But Dong-joon looks at Mi-nyeo and answers, “Mi-nam is my best friend. He’s a good person, and he’s a really cool guy.”

Aw! Dong-joon knows this is Mi-nyeo, but he keeps up the ruse out of respect and uses the name Mi-nam. He assures her that once he’s off to the army, he won’t have reason to see anybody, nor is he the type to gossip.

Mi-nyeo is grateful for his graciousness and thanks him. At the last moment, he’s overcome with emotion and grabs her in a hug. He tells her earnestly, “I really liked your sister,” then he runs off in high spirits. Once again, Tae-kyung is NOT happy to see their closeness.

But next, it’s time for Mi-nyeo to feel left out, because Heyi claims Tae-kyung’s attention. She demands a ride home, and with one last look back at Mi-nam, he leaves with her. Mi-nyeo watches them go sadly, but reminds herself not to be an annoyance.

Just as Tae-kyung drives away, Shin-woo pulls in, having come to take Mi-nyeo home. She wasn’t expecting him, but since he’s here she may as well go with him.

Having passed by Shin-woo’s car, Tae-kyung keeps an eye on the rearview mirror to watch Mi-nyeo, while Heyi points out how nice Shin-woo is to Mi-nam: “He still doesn’t know she’s a girl, right? If he did, he’d really feel bad.”

Heyi wants some spaghetti and instructs Tae-kyung to take her to the restaurant. Just then, Tae-kyung gets a phone call from Mo Hwa-ran, who requests a meeting. So he pulls up to the restaurant, tosses Heyi the keys, and points out, “Like you said, I brought you here.” He didn’t promise he’d eat with her. He leaves Heyi pouting in frustration.

On his way to meet Hwa-ran, Tae-kyung notes that this is the first time in 10 years that she’s remembered his birthday. But when he arrives at the table, he finds that she’s waiting with a few others. A reporter enthusiastically greets him, saying that once he heard Tae-kyung would be remaking Hwa-ran’s song, he was eager to interview them.

Tae-kyung sizes up the situation, then makes the excuse that he cannot stay due to a personal issue. Excusing himself, he leaves. It’s particularly sad, because although he’d told his father that his birthday doesn’t mean anything to him, he was obviously feeling hopeful when his mother called him for a special meal together. How crushing it must be to realize that she wasn’t calling him to wish him a happy birthday, but was only doing it for her own PR.

Mi-nyeo finds that Aunt Mi-ja has already opened the package containing Tae-kyung’s present, and tries to figure out how to reseal the package. A note drops out, which she reads: “This is the album you wanted so much. Happy birthday. From Dad.”

Thinking of a nice way to surprise him with a birthday present, Mi-nyeo brings out the autographed photo of Hwa-ran, which she’d gotten from the singer at the music festival. Mi-nyeo thinks it’ll make Tae-kyung happy, since he’s a fan.

When she asks if Jeremy is throwing another party tonight, she’s puzzled to hear his answer that it’s not Tae-kyung’s birthday; they’d already celebrated it earlier this year. Furthermore, Tae-kyung won’t be home tonight because he’s working at the studio all night. Deciding to go to him, Mi-nyeo heads off to the agency.

Hwa-ran finds him at the office, confronting him for humiliating her at the dinner. He sneers that she must no longer be afraid that the truth will leak out, and she admits openly, “What do I have to lose? To be honest, I’m considering revealing that you’re my son. That’ll draw some attention.” She sees his hard expression and asks, “Why, are you afraid now?”

Hwa-ran explains that she’s very ambitious about her new project, and in order to command a lot of attention, she needs him. Understandably, he’s not exactly moved by that proposal, and he jeers, “Did you love the songwriter that much? The reason you left me is because of that love, wasn’t it?”

Hwa-ran answers coldly, “Don’t sneer like that. That was the most precious thing to me.” (Ouchhhhh. Hard words to hear from a mother)

Tae-kyung returns, “That was the most terrible thing to me.” He turns to walk off, and she bursts out, “But I gave birth to you!” She makes her case, and as awful as the words are, they do have a ring of honesty about them (not that it makes them any better):

Hwa-ran: “Because of you, because I gave birth to you, I lost that precious thing. Yes, you probably thought it was a terrible thing because I abandoned you. But because of you, it was horrible for me when I lost him. Since I lost him when I had you, help me keep that love as a memory.”

Not a persuasive argument to say to an abandoned child. Tae-kyung faces Hwa-ran, the tears in his eyes belying his cool words: “If you want to take credit for giving birth to me, at least you should remember when that was.”

His reaction makes Hwa-ran guess, “Was it today?” Tae-kyung walks away, leaving Hwa-ran standing alone outside.

Only… she’s not actually alone. Mi-nyeo has witnessed the exchange, and claps a hand over her mouth in horror.

Tae-kyung’s coldness to his mother is really a front to cover his hurt, because once inside the building, he slumps against the wall, bravado crumbling. He tries in vain to choke back his tears.

Down the hall, Mi-nyeo witnesses his pain and cries, too: “Mother Superior, my star is crying in the dark. What should I do?”

 
COMMENTS

Damn. These things are getting longer and longer. As someone once said, if I had more time I would have made it shorter. I’ll try harder next time, promise!

Yesterday had the awesomely sweet “I can only see the moon” line, and today had the equally touching “My star is crying” line. Sigh. There’s something very poignant about Mi-nyeo calling Tae-kyung — in a completely non-possessive, un-ironic way — “my star.”

I don’t have that much to say in addition to what I’ve already said, except to marvel at Jang Geun-seok. He’s been great all series long, and I don’t want to suggest that the only way an actor can show he’s good is to cry a lot — but his crying scene was really, really well-done. Completely believable because it wasn’t one of those self-indulgent actorly weepfests, where it seems like they’re saying, “Look at me, look at how prettily I can cry!” (We do tend to get a lot of those in kdramas, don’t we?) I love Tae-kyung’s vulnerability in that moment — how he tries to tamp it down even though he believes himself to be alone and doesn’t have to hide from anyone. He doesn’t want to give in to the tears, because he doesn’t want to admit that his mother has that kind of hold over him, but he can’t help it. He’s a big ol’ softie, and now it’s his turn for the feelings to “burst out” of him.

(I wonder if this is an emotion that Mi-nyeo has prompted in Tae-kyung. I don’t want to attribute every little thing to the love relationship — that gets tiresome — but I do think that Mi-nyeo is the one who showed him that forgiveness can be more powerful than turning your back on the one who hurt you, as she proved with the ring scene earlier. She’s primed him for this emotional vulnerability to break through to the surface, so now I wonder how he’ll be able to bounce back from it, because I don’t think he’s ready to accept that emotional vulnerability can be a gift rather than a character weakness. He’s certainly not ready for forgiveness yet.)

And just because I have to say it: I love jealous Tae-kyung!

 
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Thanks for the recap, I don't have time to watch the show so I usually come here to read your recap. Keep up the good work.

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Thanks for the recap, I always enjoy reading them.

Tae-kyung jealous is so fun to watch; JGS really has been doing such a good job hitting just the right tone with his acting so far in the series.
Also have you read the letter that JGS posted on the official website?

I think with this episode I've been struck with Tertiary Character Syndrome. Jeremy is such so sweet and confused.

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thank you for your recap! i realli realli appreciate them =)

but i'm still a bit lost... r min nam and tae kyung brother and sister? like half? O_O or they're completely separate but it's just that his mum loved her dad?

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I HOPE You read thiS!!!!!!!!!!!!
PLEase dont shorten anything, ITS NEVER TOO LONG!!!!!!!!!!! at all
Your recaps are very very GOOD@_____@
worth reading aLL OF IT!!!!!!!!!!

thank you again,
i wait every week for your recaps ;p
lol

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i love tae-kyungs facial expressions in this episode. it's hilarious. thanks for the recap JB!

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I'm laughing out loud here just thinking about the pig face scenes hahaha and aww Jeremy, I wanna give him a hug. JGS as Tae Kyung is love! I'm off to watch at viikii...

Oh and I agree with everybody not to shorten the recaps. We love it as it is! Thanks again! :)

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Man, that woman is terrible. Her own son, not that she even recognizes him as one anyway. Those words are harsh. I just realize that actress only play that type of role, the mother.. in every drama I've seen her in. At least she was nicer in Princess Ja Myung.

They do go back and forth on the whole jealousy thing. One minute TK is jealous over MN and DJ, the next you see MN being sad seeing TK and HY together and then it continues for several times. :D It gets tiresome really.

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ahh i don't think i have the patience to wait til next week! :P

Thank you so much for the doing the recaps ^^
You are toooo awesome

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Thanks for the great recap JB! You're definitely a star! (or a moon, depending on what u want to be) :D

I agree with the rest that JGS is really a great actor. During the lunch scene his portrayal of jealousy was really good. His expressions were priceless! His crying scenes are impressive as well. I dont know, TK just tugs my heart. Love him, love YB!!

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Sung-chan vetoes the spy plot: “Just because you go abroad, blow stuff up and shoot guns doesn’t make it good!” HAHAHA.

that was the best part of the recap! =D

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yes you are making sense. I was going to try that too but it did not work maybe next time. I am so addicted to this show. The recaps are great and please keep them coming do not make them shorter that are great as they are.
THANK YOU.

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Loved it! Absolutely agree! Thank you.
This drama makes me burst into laughter and today I wanted to cry.

I love crying scenes that are relatable and raw. JGS did that today. He is defintiely rockin this show! Even Park Shin Hye with MN's reaction to TK's crying was spot on! Then last line: “Mother Superior, my star is crying in the dark. What should I do?”
I had made through TK but that...(I needed a moment!)

Onto Mo Hwa-ran: With all that Mom said, what exactly is she telling us? Regardless of how honest her words were, is he honestly supposed to just let her use him now that she needs something from him? Whether he's a love child or a mistake(accident), neither one of those reasons, stopped her from indulging in her own selfish pursuits(or so we think). I just wonder what she really wants from TK. Sadly, it doesn't seem like anything more than to resurrect her own stagnant career on the back of her abandoned child. That's dispicable. Now, I do believe that she's alot like him in that she isn't very overt with her feelings so there is definitely more to the story, ie... her reasons for him "especially" recording the song created between she and her lover. But unfortuantely for this viewer, there is nothing this mom can say to make it all better.

I just hope, like JB suggested, that TK gets to a point that he is able to truly forgive her, stop setting himself up and move on.

Lastly, a jealous TK is a hilarious TK! Can't wait to see more of him ;)

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i agree with 42. please don't cut it short!

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This Drama so Funny........................

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YAAAYYYY!!! Recap is finally in the house yo'all.. :)

I've said this but I'll said it again.. I LOVE you HONG sisters!

The last time I feel so giddy about Kdramas are when CP aired (Oh GY is my forever love).. and now YAB are finally bring back those good old feelings..
and I love it!

My thought :
"How come you could stare so intensively and throws a smexy man aura offer that eyeliner".. if JGS presence doesn't scream SEXY..I don't know what is!
I LOVE you JGS! i DO!!.. *sigh* I'm officialy your fangirl now!

"I envy you"... PSH consider yourself a lucky girl..You're on a happy spot now!
Use it to the fullest girl!

"awww...you're so sweet, just like a huge candy cane"... If TK doesn't shine so so brightly, I might just spot you SW.. but that's ok, I still have a spot for you in my heart! we love you SW

"Stop making me squeal at the sight of you"... Hongkiya... Noona LOVES you too! :)

Gosh.. Don't you guys just LOVE all the cast in it!
Can't wait for next week... Thank you JB.. I Love you too! :)

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Oh my, that last scene! I had to hold back tears since I have a face mask on. I'll just cry through words...huhuhu...

I want Min Yeo's irresistible charm! Everybody's in love with her. :)

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Can't wait to watch it...

I started refreshing your sight at 1pm and was nearly going crazy waiting for it. I've had my YB with my Friday afternoon cake and I'm feeling happy.

I was getting excited that we had another player coming onto the scene DONG-JOON. Great first impression. I want him to come back, but he's leaving for the army. Genuine tear. So sweet, but the same time I was like POOR Shin woo. his competition keeps building.

I'm not too excited about the angst between TK and his mother. I'm kind of over it.

I'm really looking forward to the real Go Min nam coming back. It may mean that Go Min nyeo will leave, but I'm sure the Hong sisters will think of something good to keep her in the picture. After all, we all want her to be the girl and we want to see Jeremy's face when he finds out that she is. Besides I really want to see what happens if the story follows those lines.

Go Min nam was suppose to come back after a month. Totally guessing, but it should at least be the third week Go Min nyeo has been with the group. Anyone else have a better idea on timeline? Surely with everything that has happened it should have been at least three weeks.

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awwwww...what an adorable series with adorable lead stars, adorable cast, adorable story..everything is sooooo adorable in this show! what else cpuldn't you love in this one? jang geun suk impresses me in each and every episode. i'd say this again, everyone fits the roles perfectly. i am especially loving the chemistry between JGS & PSH..i adore them!

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watched raw without subs last night........
read JB recaps now...........
re-watch with subs later...........

ah.........the life!!!!!!!!

Thanks JB - what would we do without you!

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dang, so many replies already! your YAB recaps are so popular!

is it possible to love ALL THREE GUYS? because quite honestly, i almost started shipping minam-jeremy after their time together - especially the bus scene. and the montage of shinwoo protecting minam? the towel again? total love.

but in the end, taekyung is totally winning the show. he is doing such a fabulous job. quite possibly, only he can make the character taekyung so damn lovable.

(and dongjun gets a hug, too, for being adorable!)

i love this show. it makes me laugh out loud. i can't help but look forward to weds & thurs every week. <3

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aw recap for episode 8!! thank u JB :)
*big smiles*

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I DON'T UNDERSTAND THE CHART. X = no and O = yes, right? And, why is it that Tae Kyung says it's good for him whether she's accepted or not when he wants to get rid of her? Shouldn't he feel disappointed when she's rejected? Can anyone please explain/verify for me? Thank you very much. Thanks JB!

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thank you JB....
jealous TK is a such a nice sight, also clueless jeremy and shinwoo... all of the are...
aww... i was cooing at the whole "i like this bumbling girl" speech...
LOL at the 'spy' concept...

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thanks for all of your summaries! i love em!

tae-kyung still irks me a little, maybe it's his character, but i do like the sweet darling shin-woo! he's sucha darling!

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Truly, this was the best episode regarding the complexity of Tae-kyung's emotions.
First his emotions toward Go Mi-Nam and how he is bouncing from jealousy to caring, to playful. He's trying to deny his feelings and but is not being able to contain them.

Then his "relationship" with Uee's character. I don't like her, mainly because she is the villain here, but she is important to show how Tae-kyung handles someone he doesn't like but still has to put up with. Plus, he is somewhat honest with her. He ends up confessing to her things that maybe he wouldn't have told anyone (or even voiced to himself), like that his laughter, earlier in the MV shooting, was real. It's a cold but objective relationship where he knows the truth is the weapon that will hurt her more and he uses it. It's sooo nice to watch that. -- I really, really like the fact that he never lets her trick him.

And finally his relationship with his mother. It was so... REAL. He still has hopes of having her as a "normal" mother. One that remembers her child's birthday and weaknesses. But he tries, as an adult that was abandoned as a child, to distance himself. To the point where he pretends not to know her. It is, I think, one of the reasons why Uee's character never gets close to his feelings. She reminds him too much of his mother (maybe?).

I love, love, loooove this drama. Each new episode is better than the other, the balance between humor is PERFECT.
Why people are watching IRIS I have no idea. I tried to start watching it, since there was all that buzz about it, but I have to agree with the Hong sisters on this one: "Just because you go abroad, blow stuff up and shoot guns doesn’t make it good!”
I really can't warm up to that plot.
Anyways, back to YAB... I hear they are shooting it as they go. So that's why there aren't any previews airing at the end of the episodes now. They have a tight timeline. I'm worried now. They are working so hard but with so low ratings. T.T

That's it.
Oh, btw, this is my first time commenting here. ^^ But I'm always reading your re-caps. Thanks JB!

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Honestly, I'm a little amazed (but very glad) at how popular this drama is among fans. But not only is it "popular" -- that word can mean anything from a shallow interest to something more intense -- I think it taps something within the viewers on a personal level and makes us a little bit crazed. In the best way, of course. I mean, the Episode 7 recap has only been up 24 hours and it's logged more than 50,000 pageviews. That's astonishing!

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javabeans, you are so influential -- i can already see how your opinions/thoughts about the drama are shaping the way other people see this show... even the coffee prince reference haha.

anyways, i do agree with you about how this drama is so effective at hitting the viewer at a more visceral, emotional level. to be honest, though, the last drama to do that for me wasn't coffee prince (which was just... OK for me), but actually "i'm sorry i love you," which goes back even further. i guess a large part of this visceral impact depends on the individual viewer, since dramas resonate differently given different people's unique experiences. but even more superficial things like the white "star" vans, the relationship dynamics between the leads (mi-nyeo reminds me of eun-chae, strangely enough), the makjang given-up-at-birth shenanigans... they all link together for me.

also, please don't apologize for making these recaps longer. if anything, don't hold back! it is so obvious that you are restraining yourself from writing more, and i have to say that you shouldn't -- it's precisely your elaborate musings and guttural responses that attract readers like me to your recaps. let your thoughts burst free, like mi-nyeo's emotions :)

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thanks soooo much!!! like all your readers i have been refreshing your site since i got home from work. ahhh i am such a fan of this drama, i agree with you that my last obsession was CF and my last infatuation was BOF but this is sooo much better...i hope it doesn't get cut short...i don't care about ratings, this is my fave drama on right now (across all languages LOL).

no worries on length...the more the better...I love MN and TK!!! they fit so well together makes me go fangirly on all of it and then i have to breathe in and out and not squeal and giggle! geez look at what this drama has turned me into!!!

keep up the great work...now i have to distract myself until next week ugh seems so far away!

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Love your recaps...The chart is a nice touch!!

Once again.. i bow down at SW bro.. the master of concealment... "You have to fold it like this to not show the inside." Are u talking about your heart? oh please just confess NOW its' killing me.

Somehow the portraying a mundane event such as riding the bus as a "special" shows up in Kdrama a lot... wonder what that fascination comes from...
Nevertheless really cute Jeremy... poor guy.

Looks like the name "dwaejitoki" is here to stay...wonder if manager will realise who MN truely loves after seeing that video. Can't wait.

And that woman.. really want to slap her... the nerve of her to ask those things of TK.
From that exchange..I think I can safely say TK and MN are NOT related... it's turned from a possible half -silbing to a "you are the daughter of the man who indirectly ruined my childhood" type scenario... wonder how it will play out....

MN is the moon... TK is her sun (the star) She cries and smiles according to his moon...because she reflects his light...
OH that crying scene got me so sentimental...JKS... Chang Hui prince of angst is back!
This pair's star moon analogy really remind me of the Erykah Badu song "Orange Moon.." someone needs to make a Fan MV...

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thanks for the recaps!

i really don't understand why this drama is not doing well in ratings, especially when the target audience is similar to BBF viewers. why did BBF do so well and why isn't YB having the same success? any thoughts?

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Thanks for the recap JB. Please don't shorten it as i live for your recaps before i can read the subbed episodes. I cant wait each week so i normally watch it unsubbed first. Following up with your recap normally gives me a better picture / understanding of the nuances... :)

I so love this drama.... and JGS. He was adorable in HGD (not everyone agrees, I know) but he's simply unforgettable in YAB. Wow! Such greater acting depth in the span of 12 mos. He's simply gotten better and better...from HGD to Beethoven Virus to YAB.

This young man is going straight to the top!

....and did i say how much i love, love this drama!!!

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Ive been lurking 4 a while now (since Coffee Prince which been 2 yrs or so) but i never had the urge 2 post i was content reading it all....that was then I just LOVE JGS he's just sooooo adorable esp when he laughs he looks like a completely different person...Ive been a fan of Shin Hye since Tree of Heaven.
I love your recaps...actually the longer the better...like reading all your lil tidbits :o)

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JB, I couldn't agree with you more...this has been the best drama so far after Coffee Prince (at least for me). Looking at the increasing traffic to your site and all the YAB fan out there alike and their comments, I hope they produce more of such quality melodramas.

Watching on YouTube yesterday, I totally misinterpreted the whole Shin Woo-Mi Nam scenario (the folding paper aeroplane scene). I thought Shin Woo come clean that he knew her secret (with various poignant scenes that he furtively helped her).

Wouldn't you just adore the screenwriters' wittiness (the bond senario and their sarcastic vibes on IRIS)??? Thanks for pointing that out...totally miss the point otherwise. Your writing style never fail to amaze me. Keep up the great work!

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oh how i do look forward to your recaps :)

my week is complete.

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thank you sooo much for this.

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I agree with you all. This is an astonishingly amazing series. I do love all of TK's jealousy moments and all of his excuses for letting MN go. Nothing he does or intended to do could stop him from thinking of MN (good and bad), but always being distracted by thoughts of her. TK-MN's interactions are so adorable and sweet. They do look natural with each other, as HY said. It is funny when he burst her bubble by saying that his laughter with MN was not fake. Really hurt her pride. Although, I don't know what HY is expecting from this fake relationship. Well, at least, it is making money for her movie and videos.

I just hope that YB cast and crew can hang on and fight. They are doing great so far. It is true though, going to foreign country and blow up things doesn't make a good drama. I have seen enough action/ conspiracy movies and storyline to last me a lifetime. Unless they have a good story line, it really is not worth watching at all. So, IRIS, I truly have no intention of watching at all, especially when there is a JEM like YB airing at the same time. Well, next week can't come fast enough.

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thanks SSSOOOO much JavaB!!!

aawww... Jeremy, sooo sweet *sigh*...these guys (jeremy and shinwoo) are all soooo sweet, it hurts to know their love is not requited! *sigh*

am glad they did give Jeremy a good screen time.

lol! at IRIS-like parody!!! I did mumbled, "hey, hey , hey look! TK is like the 100%kill rate TOP" LOL!!! ^-^

lol!! DongJoon is cute.... haha! poor TK.... go and do your "pout" TK....lol

The mother is such a ....*%$#@.... nearly made me cry too..... : (

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Further explanation of the chart (which I agree is confusing)

The X's and O's don't mean yes/no, rather they stand for "bad result" and "good result."

Scenario1 : Shin-woo hears Mi-nam's confession and accepts her. Still, Shin-woo will be unhappy that his trust in Mi-nam has been shaken because of her lie, but Mi-nam will be happy because she gets to unburden herself and earn his (eventual) forgiveness. Tae-kyung is happy because this means he's rid of her pesky ways and Mi-nam is now Shin-woo's problem.

Scenario 2: Shin-woo doesn't forgive Mi-nam, which is bad for Shin-woo because he is thrown into turmoil. It's bad for Mi-nam because now she's lost Shin-woo's friendship. It's still good for Tae-kyung because he is still rid of Mi-nam and her pesky ways.

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Thanks JB. I watched ep8 w/o subs last night and still enjoyed it.. I was laughing at the jealous TK and squeal at MNs cuteness... I cried at the last 5 min. So intense. even w/o understanding any korean i can just grasp the moment.. kudos to JGS and PSY excelent peformance!

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When I start reading the review, there were only 8 people commenting. When I'm done with the review (and re watching the vids in between just to get the right emotions), there's already 84 people commenting. Whoaa... good job JB! (I'm writing this very slowly so it probably reached more than 100 by now LOL.

I cried the first time I watched TK cried in the raw vids. I don't understand a thing, but I cried soooo hard just looking at him (and later MN) cried. His expression (and MN) was SUPERB that I can totally feel his pain, even when I couldn't understand the conv. btween him and his mother. I cried even worse when I read your review and re-watch the scene again. And I'm going to go off to viikii to watch the vids with subs. Omo omo omo,.. today is going to be tear-fest for me.

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"Also: Jang Geun-seok, you break my heart. In a good way."
LOL!

"He strikes upon the concept: a first love that came and went “without a word.”
Is this pointing to the impending separation between our cluless leads.

"No he’s not jealous, no not at all!"
Ofcourse not. TK is not jealous. And I'm not in love with him.

"Still, his father has sent him a gift from the States".
Oh how I wish Kang Mae would show up as his dad. It would be a cute joke!

"There’s something very poignant about Mi-nyeo calling Tae-kyung — in a completely non-possessive, un-ironic way — “my star.”
To me, it came across as "my love". As you said, nothing possesive about it. Almost, like a matter of fact.

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I just want to say that I AM SO FREAKIN HAPPY in discovering your wonderful site. I've been a reader since your Que Sera Sera recaps. I really don't understand why YB doesn't have higher ratings, it's such a fantastic show! I haven't been this excited since Coffee Prince and that was seriously AGES ago. Loving everything about this drama, especially how each character develops through each episode. Lovely.

The best scene for me atm would have to be the pig in the field in ep 7. JGS's facial expressions were absolutely hilarious! I rewatched three times and laughed like crazy! Anyway, so many sweet moments in this episode and it's great seeing more Jeremy and Mi-nam moments :D

Oh great, I can't wait till next week!!!!!!!!!!!

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Oh, and Javabeans please don't shorten the recaps. The more the better! :D

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thanks for the recaps!

i love love love this drama. i told myself that i wouldn't watch it b/c it looked so cheesy, but now i wish for the week to fly by just so i could watch this drama. it's so funny, love the jealousy, the cutsiness of it all, the cast is excellent, and music is good. when i watched the first episode, i was like when will it get boring? it has to eventually since they used up so many funny scenes in just that one episode. what could they think of next? but it just keeps on getting better. so many good moments that i can't choose a favorite. can't wait to see what else is in store.

i love tk facial expressions. the circling of the lips cracks me up. go mi-nam's pig face is a nice touch, too.

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Thanks so much for the recaps. I feel like I have just watched the whole episode with eng sub =) Too bad there's no preview for episode 9...I hope this drama gets recognition award this year and bravo to JGS's acting. He steals the scene every time he goes on...I couldn't notice everyone else so I have to re-watch the episode again and again to notice other people >_<

Anyway, thanks again. I look forward to see your recaps next week

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Yes, THANK YOU FOR THE RECAP AND SUPER QUICK UPDATE! I don't mind it being long at all! Keep doing what you're doing coz it's awesome!

The JGS-crying scene really moved me (T.T) but I know MN will save JGS from his sadness!

<33333

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LOL at the lunch scene...the repartee on the rich/poor student and the anchovies and the annoyed sneer displayed by TK at MN. JGS is truly a remarkable actor.

JB, why didn't I find your DB site when I'm watching Coffee Prince 2 years ago??? Why? It would made CP much more interesting...

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I really appreciate all those small little details in YB that Hong sisters input a little in each episode. For example, TK can only sleep if MN is around, if not he will go around the house to look for her although he kept saying she is taking up space. The table that TK drew is damn funny too!

Even Dong-joon who has so little air time shine like a star in this episode. He acted very well and I really had a lot of laughter with him around.

Thank god for little HY and sneaky reporter scenes too.

If you go and see the official message JGS wrote, it is around midnight on Thursday and to think that they are still filming episode 8 when it is supposed to be air at 9.55pm. Despite such a tight deadline, the cast and crew still managed to perform well. They must have film overnight straight. No wonder recently there was no preview because they are still in the midst of filming.

Looking forward to next week episodes. Another painful week.. I hope MN will hug TK or something to comfort him.

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Nooo !!! Long recaps are just fine ! Excellent job. Enjoying every bit. :D

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Can I tell you how much I freaken love you? LOL~Seriously, I would have gone mad by now if I had never came across this site. You're amazing with these screencaps. I love your wording, side comments, and your insights. Like quite a few others have stated before, I also tend to watch raw versions, then read your re-caps (follow by your readers' comments), then watch the raw version a hundred some times more before finally looking at a subbed version. Before "You're Beautiful," I used to be highly dependent on subbed videos, but all thanks to you, and this highly addictive drama, I'm actually getting into the habit of watching without subs. Like someone else mentioned before, it's making me (the viewer) focus more at the actors' faces and their actions rather than the English words at the bottom.

Haha... I don't know what to say about this drama since everyone else pretty much said everything I wanted to say. It's highly addictive. I'm pretty keen on K-dramas and so I've been skipping out on a butt load of them because there was just either too much angst, too much comedy, an overwhelmingly twisted storyline, was just wayyyyy to complex, progressed at such a slow speed... OR~ the presented eye candy was not to my likings. haha. However, "You're Beautiful" hit the jackpot. I found myself literally LOL-ing over the absurdness presented (Jeremy's reactions, along with the parodys), crying with Tae-kyung during his breakdown moments, feeling bad for Shinwoo, fawning over Taekyung's "I care, but I'm gonna act like I don't" act, to adoring Min-nyu's positiveness and Taekyung's reactions to her. This drama is crack at it's best. It's damn good. And I'm hecka pissed the ratings are so low.

Gosh, the last scene in this episode totally killed me, and what'll kill me even more is a treacherous one week wait.

I'm loving the developments so far, and I'm especially loving the fact that Jeremy got to spend some time with Min-nyu. They sooooooo needed that bonding time. Hongki appearing on that bench before she "disappears" is so... *squeals* ... freaken cute. This boy is damn adorable. Words can't describe how much I just wanna smush him and squeeze those damn cheeks of his. XD Man... just makes one want to take him home and keep him forever ya know?

Please don't even try to cut your re-caps/screencaps short. LOL, you know it's going to be pretty hard. If it were me, every scene would have been included and translated line by line to the point where it should have subbed instead. Haha... In all seriousness, just keep doing what you're doing. People don't mind the "extra" reading cause we love you like that --------and some of us are actually more dependent on your caps than subbed videos. Thanks so much for everything!

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