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Shut Up: Flower Boy Band: Episode 3

Damn, they weren’t kidding when they called Sung Joon (well, Ji-hyuk) “laser eyes.” This was his episode to shine — or, should I say, smolder. He pretty much embodies the adage “if looks could kill”; steer clear when you find yourself in his sightline lest you burst into flames. And not in a good way.

We lose a beloved member of the posse, but the others step it up and our main story really kicks off in this episode. I appreciate how complex each character feels, even the smaller sideliners who haven’t gotten their solo moment yet; you can just tell that everybody’s been given a lot of care and thought. I hate when only the main characters get fleshed out and given multiple facets, with the rest just buzzing around like plot-necessitated satellites. I want everybody to feel like they’re the hero of their own story, and you really feel that here.

SONG OF THE DAY

Lee Min-ki – “Not In Love” from the Shut Up: Flower Boy Band OST, which played in the first episode. [ Download ]

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

 
EPISODE 3 RECAP

Byung-hee staggers into the street, smiling to see his friends waiting for him on the other side… which he’ll never reach because a truck slams into him, killing him instantly.

In a short montage, we see some of Byung-hee’s recent happy moments, and the image of him blissfully crowdsurfing superimposes over his funeral picture. If there’s any small consolation, it’s that the hybrid image reminds us that Byung-hee had said he’d like to die in his happiest moment, with his friends, surrounded by music.

At Byung-hee’s tiny funeral, his grandmother sobs next to his drunkard father. The boys sit in grim silence but ticket girl/roadie Woo-kyung is inconsolable, crying loudly, and finally Ji-hyuk can’t take the sound — he’s just barely holding onto his own control — and stalks out of the hall.

Ji-hyuk runs, seemingly no destination in mind other than away. Recent conversations with Byung-hee ring in his head — of Byung-hee wondering if they’d ever get to play at a rock festival, of Ji-hyuk sighing sardonically about the state of their lives, of both of them assuring each other that they’re all right in the end. And then Byung-hee’s voice says, “I want to die in my happiest moment,” and Ji-hyuk screams.

At school, desks remain conspicuously empty, noted by three anxious students: Su-ah is worried in general, Seung-hoon is grim after witnessing the death, and his bandmate Pyo-joo practically twitches in his seat from fear over jumping Byung-hee.

The principal announces to the class that a student had an accident last night but leaves out the details, so the students fly into a flurry of gossip. The two boys shoot each other a look.

Ji-hyuk storms into the classroom, overturns a desk, and grabs Seung-hoon by the jacket. He asks why he did it, then demands, “Bring Byung-hee back to life!”

Seung-hoon counters, “And what did I do?” Ji-hyuk decks him in the face, and Su-ah jumps in to tell Ji-hyuk to cut it out. He ignores her, but his old teacher arrives on the scene to break up the budding fight, holding back Ji-hyuk, who tries to furiously break away. All the while, cowardly Pyo-joo huddles in his seat silently.

Ji-hyuk storms off fuming, the students resume gossiping, and Su-ah feels certain that something happened between the guys that involves Byung-hee’s death. Deo-mi suggests going shopping later, but Su-ah calls Deo-mi out for being so frivolous when a classmate has died. Deo-mi at least looks abashed, but Su-ah observes her chattering class and says, more to herself than anything, “You’re really something, all of you.”

In the bathroom, Pyo-joo freaks out to his friends Seung-hoon and Maro. He only wanted to scare Byung-hee, he says, but he fought back and things got out of hand. Nerdy Maro reasons calmly, “If a dolphin gets caught in a fishing net and dies, is it the fault of the dolphin or of the person who cast the net?” Pyo-joo, alarmed: “Are you saying I killed him?!”

Pyo-joo panics, sure that Ji-hyuk & Co. are going to kill him. Seung-hoon grabs him and tells him forcefully that he didn’t kill anybody — it was an accident, got it? Sniveling, Pyo-joo agrees.

At the funeral home, Ji-hyuk waits while holding Byung-hee’s funeral photo, watching as a rich-looking man hands an envelope to Byung-hee’s father, asking if it’s “enough.” You know, to compensate for the death of his son.

The five friends seethe, but Do-il holds Ha-jin back from engaging. No goodness there.

The friends make a sad little funeral procession carrying the photo, until Kyung-jong shrugs off his jacket and wraps it around the frame, saying that Byung-hee hated being cold. Such small gestures that have such impact.

They set up the photo on a pool table as a memorial shrine, alongside the cue stick that has “Byung-hee jjang!” carved into the handle. They reminisce about how great he was at pool, how he hated losing — and how he never caught on to the fact that Ji-hyuk lost on purpose to let him win.

They’re interrupted by the arrival of another group — the other Dongnae gang that used to be second best, after them. With Byung-hee gone, the leader’s feeling smug and invincible, sneering that the Eye Candy leader got himself crushed at the hands of Jungsang’s top dogs.

Ji-hyuk approaches with a look so menacing that the leader loses nerve, but he grabs a bottle and wields it, challenging Ji-hyuk to fight. Ji-hyuk hits the bottle with his bare hand, breaking off the fat end, then grabs the broken neck in his hand without batting an eye. His palm ends up torn up and bloody, but he doesn’t register any emotion.

Cut to: Short minutes later, the brief fight already over. The Dongnae gang cowers and cries while Ha-jin suggests a treaty. Just then the Dongnae leader’s backup arrives — his gangster hyungnim with two minions in tow. “Who did this to my kid brother?!” he demands.

Ice Prince Hyun-soo shoots him a glare, but Hyungnim guesses right away that it was Ji-hyuk. To everybody’s surprise, it’s Do-il who steps up and says that he did it. Even more surprising is that Hyungnim registers Do-il’s face, then backs down, telling his brother he should’ve been more careful. Hyungnim even switches to jondaemal, and the minute he tells his brother he’s been fighting with a bigshot’s son, even little bro cringes in fear.

That’s news to the boys, who marvel that Do-il’s father is really that gangster guy with the frightful reputation. Ji-hyuk admits he knew to some extent, but he’d kept quiet.

So now Ha-jin calls Do-il “jjang!” and Kyung-jong adorably jumps on him like a doting puppy. Hyun-soo corrects him, saying their boss commands respect, not affection. Lol. I love that they defuse a potentially awkward situation by joking about it.

Su-ah finds Seung-hoon in the music room, and asks him about the rumors — they’re not true, right? That he and Pyo-joo had something to do with Byung-hee’s death?

He asks if she believes them, and she says she wants to hear it from him directly. I don’t think she seems entirely convinced, but she’s relieved at his denial and thanks him for not being involved. Seung-hoon grimaces, feeling a tug at his conscience for the minor part he did play.

The boys stop by a food cart for fishcake skewers, and Ha-jin says sadly that they still taste good even though their friend is dead. Kyung-jong breaks down into sobs, and that threatens to push Ji-hyuk over too so he makes an quick exit.

On the roof, they root through a box of fireworks left by Byung-hee, which he liked to buy for the neighborhood kids. Hyun-soo suggests setting them off, so they send up a shower of sparks into the sky, shouting, “Can you see them, Byung-hee?”

Su-ah peers out of her front door to watch them. Ji-hyuk is the only one to notice her, but he doesn’t do anything about it.

In the morning, Su-ah knocks on Ji-hyuk’s door and asks how he is, and now Byung-hee’s funeral went, which she’d wanted to go to. If Ji-hyuk hadn’t liked her before, this makes him downright contemptuous: “Why, are you sad that you have nobody chasing you around school anymore?”

Ji-hyuk calls Byung-hee the idiot for liking her, and starts to shout that he wouldn’t have died if she hadn’t come by that night. But he cuts himself off angrily, then shakes off her arm when she asks him to explain. He leans in close and bites out, “Get lost.”

Ji-hyuk locks himself up in his rooftop room for days, and Woo-kyung worries to the guys about how to draw him out. Ha-jin fixates on paying back the bastards who did this to Byung-hee. Aside from the death itself, he’s fuming at the injustice of having this swept under the rug as a simple traffic accident. They all saw his condition before the truck came along and know that Pyo-joo had a hand in the beating; he wants to track them down and return the favor.

Do-il says they’d better leave Ji-hyuk out of this, and when Hyun-soo protests saying that he’d want to fight back more than anyone, Do-il points out that that’s exactly why — they don’t know how far he’ll go.

Ji-hyuk is awakened by a phone call, and the caller assumes he’s Byung-hee and tells him he needs his school ID and demo CD. You know, for that high school rock festival he entered.

Ji-hyuk beelines for the festival office and learns that Byung-hee had submitted them to the National High School Band Competition, which is sponsored by a big-name music label. Now he realizes this is what Byung-hee had been alluding to, and confirms the rest of the application process.

They’ll need to submit a demo of a song, as well as proof of school enrollment since only students are allowed. Aha! Clever clever, giving the boys tangible motivation for staying in school.

That ups the ante when the principal speaks to the former Dongnae teacher about the truants, who haven’t been in school for a week. The teacher starts to rant about how he’d like to round ’em all up and kick ’em out, but the principal has a smoother proposal in mind. Rather than making waves, he’d rather they got rid of the boys quietly, and according to their school rules, ten days of truancy equals automatic expulsion. So let’s wait it out.

The other guys lie in wait for Pyo-joo and grab him unawares, dragging him off while calling Seung-hoon from his phone. Hyun-soo takes the lead and instructs his group to ignore Ji-hyuk’s calls, since they don’t want this situation spiraling out of control.

So Ji-hyuk tears around town looking for his friends, growing more worried when Woo-kyung mentions hearing them talk of revenge. He frantically leaves messages for them to stay out of trouble and not do anything.

The four friends manage to drag the story out of Pyo-joo with the help of some fists. When he admits to luring Byung-hee with the promise of replacing Do-il’s drums, Do-il takes over and punches him in the face several times.

Ji-hyuk runs into the fray and drags Do-il off, but Hyun-soo turns on him, angry. Ji-hyuk has been shut up in his room for days, and now he’s telling them to back off?

Seung-hoon and Maro arrive and demand to know what’s going on. Hyun-soo fires back, “Why, does it piss you off that your friend got beat up? But hey, at least your bastard friend is still alive.” You can’t really argue with that.

Maro argues logically that doing this won’t return Byung-hee from the dead. Okay, yes, that is true, robot boy, but your way of dispassionately spouting facts can be a real pain in the ass.

Ji-hyuk yells at his friends to back off, earning him a stare-down from a furious Hyun-soo, then steps up to face Seung-hoon, leader to leader. He suggests they let today go — his friends protest incredulously — and Seung-hoon can’t argue with his point that this is best for his side too. They’d just end up hurt, plus they can’t claim complete innocence in Byung-hee’s death.

Ji-hyuk declares an end to the fight, and announces that they’re all going back to school. After explaining the festival situation to the band, he argues that if they want to honor Byung-hee’s last action in entering the competition, they’d better go to school and steer clear of trouble.

This means reshuffling and a new vocalist, although Ha-jin says there’s no discussion needed — obviously it’ll be Ji-hyuk. Hyun-soo challenges the assumption, and it looks like an argument might break out. Thankfully he’s mollified when the friends say he’s better at guitar and that Ji-hyuk’s just like Byung-hee anyway — in being crazy, that is.

They designate Ji-hyuk the new leader, and just as they’re wondering what to do about practice space, they find an enveloped tucked in Byung-hee’s notebook, marked “Demo recording dough.”

The rich boys gather in Pyo-joo’s hospital room, the latter seething and eager to send the boys to their early demise. Using Daddy’s influence, of course. Seung-hoon’s conscience niggles at him — or maybe he just doesn’t want to lose Su-ah — and he advocates letting this go.

Maro reasons that if he tried to retaliate, one false move could ruin Pyo-joo’s own future. Even if he got away with it legally, he could end up damned by the court of public opinion: “People always side with the dead.”

Seung-hoon tells him the way to ensure his own safety is to let it go, and Pyo-joo reluctantly agrees.

Su-ah looks at her dwindling bank account; she’s only got about 40 bucks to her name. She works up the nerve to go back to that fancy restaurant Byung-hee took her to, which is still hiring servers.

Ji-hyuk flips through Byung-hee’s music notebook, smiling at a recent scrawling: “Muse… Seeing you makes my chest go thunk!” He picks up his guitar and sets out to work on Byung-hee’s unfinished song. Su-ah hears the playing from her rooftop and listens, taken with the music and also relieved at the signs of life from Ji-hyuk’s roof.

Thus the boys reappear at school, quietly bowing to teachers who gape in surprise. The students eye them with reproach, having heard that they beat up Pyo-joo; they call them shameless for showing their faces.

Deo-mi fills Su-ah in on the details — that Pyo-joo beat up Byung-hee, and the boys retaliated. Deo-mi sniffs at it (“Do they think they’re Won Bin in Ajusshi, thinking revenge makes them look cool?”). But while the boys aren’t participating in school, at least they pass the time quietly, to themselves.

Ji-hyuk passes out the song that he finished, which they’ll record tomorrow. Next on his list is securing practice space; he watches Maro locking up the room and tucking the key in a grate in the floor.

That night, they duck back into school and Ji-hyuk argues that they shouldn’t spend Byung-hee’s hard-earned cash on recording space when they’ve got such great facilities at their disposal. They slip past the security guard, set up shop, and get to recording.

It’s a great song (though the sound is purposely kept raw — probably to keep us on the edge of our seats to hear the real version), and Ji-hyuk sings Byung-hee’s muse-inspired lyrics about the moment he first saw her.

Su-ah paces her rooftop looking across the way, waiting for Ji-hyuk. He finally trudges home, replaying Byung-hee’s phone call in his head — the happy one where he’d declared, “I love you, Dog Ji-hyuk!” He follows it up with the voicemail of Byung-hee’s last call, desperately urging him to pick up the phone.

He looks up to find Su-ah standing there, having heard the message. She’s stunned and guilt-stricken, saying he was right in blaming her — if she hadn’t come over, Ji-hyuk would have been able to find Byung-hee the night he died.

Ji-hyuk isn’t angry anymore, though, and he tries to downplay it. He’d just left his phone in his room, and it’s not her fault. Tearing up, she says, “Now I understand what you mean by ‘Get lost.’ I’m sorry.”

Su-ah hurriedly leaves and Ji-hyuk grimaces, feeling guilty. He sighs, “Sorry, friend, for making your muse cry.”

Ji-hyuk hits up his old teacher for his proof of school enrollment, but when the teacher hears why, he refuses to allow the boys to enter. The kids at this school are debaters, mathletes — you know, fancy activities. They don’t associate with that loser rock band stuff.

Ji-hyuk actually resorts to bribery… with a sausage stick, ha! Your skills of persuasion are so terrible that it’s endearing. The teacher dismisses him and turns eagerly to address newly arrived Seung-hoon, happy to dote on a promising student… until Seung-hoon says he wants to enter the same competition and needs the same form. Ji-hyuk actually smirks.

He and Seung-hoon trade a few polite taunts about the competition, and Kyung-jong worries that they’d really better win, because it’ll be humiliating if they fail. Ji-hyuk assures him not to worry, since they’ve got Byung-hee’s song on their side.

But the principal arrives with a cop in tow, who cites that a report has been filed for Pyo-joo’s assault. The principal orders the boys in for questioning — all except Ji-hyuk. Either he’s dividing and conquering, or Pyo-joo doesn’t hold him responsible for the beating.

The boys don’t utter a peep, though, and the cop relents for today, though he warns them that he’ll be back. Ji-hyuk is left outside to stew in his thoughts, remembering his warning to the boys to stay in school and out of trouble. But that caution seems to fall by the wayside as he storms off with murder in his eyes.

Seung-hoon and Su-ah are joined by Maro, who informs them of the cop’s visit. It’s not hard to guess that even if Pyo-joo kept his mouth shut, his father surely didn’t.

As they digest this, Ji-hyuk charges up to Seung-hoon, who braces for confrontation just as the Eye Candy boys emerge from the office behind him. Ji-hyuk says, “I won’t ask you to lie. Just don’t forget what you saw that night.”

And then, to everybody’s shock, Ji-hyuk falls to his knees, right in front of Seung-hoon. Gasp!

The band and everybody in the hallway gape in astonishment as Ji-hyuk requests, “Let us stay in school. Please, Yoo Seung-hoon.”

 
COMMENTS

The fall-to-you-knees supplication is a common maneuver in dramaland, meant to shock and subvert expectations. Sometimes you see that expectation coming, though, so it fails to grab you the way the story wants it to, because you know that’s how your emotions are being manipulated.

In this case, though, I was totally taken by surprise — even though I know that the expectation was for Ji-hyuk to lose his shit and therefore cause further problems while we’re screaming at him not to engage. This drama does a fantastic job of putting you in the moment, though, so that I’m riding the twists along with the characters. And in three short episodes, the show has done such a solid job of developing these characters so that Ji-hyuk’s humbling really feels like a humbling — we know exactly what it takes for him to shove aside his pride. And that, in turn, highlights just how great his love for Byung-hee, that it supersedes himself. Agh, it kills me.

I knew I would miss Lee Min-ki, but to its credit, the show is still standing without his incredible magnetic draw, an appeal that comes from Lee as an actor and from Byung-hee the larger-than-life character. While I could have happily watched a full drama with Lee Min-ki as the star, I’m loving where we’re going without him. As I suspected, now we get a chance to see the others step up; maybe they’ll get a chance in the rock spotlight, but also as characters with their own conflicts and strong personalities of their own.

Sung Joon in particular rocked this episode, and I’m relieved to see that the promise he showed in previous projects wasn’t a fluke. It’s hard to judge acting performance when your last project was as big a mess as Lie To Me with its many directorial and storytelling flaws. He’s still raw as an actor, but this is a project where raw serves you well. He was aloof and sardonic with Byung-hee around, but with his friend gone Ji-hyuk’s intensity level has just shot through the roof.

We also got a look into Hyun-soo, and I’m intrigued by the simmering tension underneath his surface. I noticed his barely veiled bitterness in previous episodes and suspected there’s more going on with him. For instance, he shot a few pointed barbs at Do-il last week, blaming the drums for always being their big problem, which made me wonder whether he had beef with Do-il in particular. In this episode he demonstrated alpha-male friction with Ji-hyuk, and now I wonder what the angst really stems from. He has a tendency to hold himself apart from the group, making the Ice Prince moniker especially appropriate. For now it appears that the group knows how to defuse the tension before it can escalate, but this sets us up for rich conflict later.

Overall, I continue to be in love with this drama, and execution-wise, I find it pitch-perfect. Moody, dark, raw, and moving, I think it’s such a shame that the Flower Boy branding has automatically made people dismiss it as stupid or brainless. Fangirls may like pretty boys, but hey, I know a lot of fangirls who also like taut storytelling, kickass musical score, and cinematic directing. To dismiss Shut Up: Flower Boy Band as silly teen fluff is like assuming Veronica Mars was a candy-coated sugarpuff, just because it was set in high school and had a quippy blonde heroine.

I love the sense of unease always under the surface and the immediacy of the emotions; I’m all-in with these characters, who all feel vibrant and real.

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yay, firstly, thank you so much for fast recap. totally what i need for morning tuesday blues. Better than coffee...off to read

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Hi Dramabeans,

I don't know if you are aware of this, but there is a website that seems to be using your recaps. They have the EXACT same recap, screen caps, and commentary as your's. I don't know if you gave them permission to do so or not, but they seem to be using a vast amount of your drama recaps. Just wanted to let you guys know, in case they ARE doing if this without permission. Hopefully they do (but I doubt it cuz I looked up and down the page and found no crediting to you guys), but I wanted to alert you guys in case.
Here's the website: http://www.ohkpop.com/22356/shut-up-flower-boy-band-episode-3

(sorry leesan, this isn't related to your comment, but i wanted this to be at the top so Javabeans could see this)

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Just took a tour at this site to check. Damn, some people are shameless... Globally they mirror ALL the recent recaps of DB, without telling their source. I wonder : How long did they think it could last ?

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Skye, I forgot to mention : You can join GF or JB via their own email box ( click contact above the header ), in case they miss your message here.

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Hey thanks! :)

And actually the funny thing is that I wasn't even looking for recaps (i go here for ALL my delightful drama recaps :D)
I was actually searching up "b.a.p album photoshoot" (cuz i'm in love with this new rookie group) and I found that website.

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Ahhhhh This is beyond shameless!
They lifted it word for word.
It's every drama DB is reviewing.......

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I know, I was appalled, and it was not just one recap, it was a whole bunch of their recaps. I don't know if the editors have seen this or maybe they are fixing this issue quietly, but they haven't responded to this comment or when I contacted them. I can't accuse that site of plagiarism yet because Dramabeans MAY have authortized this, but I doubt it since there were no sources whatsoever...

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Okay, so I went to check out the site, and I read their recap of Two Week's first ep to verify if they really directly copied from Dramabeans. When I realised that everything was exactly the same, I almost bashed them in the comments, but luckily I read on and saw that they had credited DB and javabeans at the end of the recap. So, they ARE copying from DB, but at least they're crediting now. Just putting this out there in case someone reads the above comments and starts bashing the site.

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Is it doing well ratings wise. I love the show and I want Koreas to watch it so we can get more like it.

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Wow, I’ve been refreshing every 30 seconds and it’s here! That was incredibly fast! You guys are amazing!

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Sung Joon! *thud*
Wait! How old is he? Is he legal?
Agree about his performance in this episode.

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Sung Joon was born in 1990, so he's 21 now :)

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wow he's 21!!, he looks so old, I thought he was 25

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He is legal...lol fortunately. He was born in 1990

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I want to know too hahaha.

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I really love Sung Joon. He has really great presence. I just finished "White Christmas" (I'm pretty sure the Maru kid is also in that) yesterday, and he was great in that too. I love his expressions.

Gah -- I love this drama so much.

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Is maru played by the death kid in white Christmas? I find it pretty funny interesting that almost all the boys have branched out to their own dramas now. Sung join is in this one. 3 are in vampire idol with one also playing a minor role in wild romance at the same time. Another is in the drama queen insoo. And lastly one is in the bachelor show. White Christmas seems to have given the attention they needed as actors since m

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Oops pressed the submit button too early. Anyway white Christmas seems to have been a great starting point for most of them. And I can see why since that drama was so awesome. I can't wait to watch this drama since it seems to be up my alley. And I agree with JB that it would be shame to pass up on this drama b/c of flower boy ramyun shop. Since this seems to be very different. I did enjoy the last one though.

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I just finished white christmas too!!!! OK...adding this drama to my never ending list...sigh

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Yay, thanks so much for your recap! It was interesting to see some of the characters' backgrounds rise to the surface, albeit slowly. Looking forward to tomorrow...and to watching with English subs whenever they come out.

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even though the episode was good i couldn't help feeling unsatisfied the reason being the abscence of lee min_ki :( it's like the show have given me chocolate milk the previous week and now they expect me to adjust to just plain milk :( i mean i know it sounds unjust but really that's how i feel. the wining card of the show has been pulled out :( :( i feel wronged and i want my crazy beatiful Byung-hee back !!!!

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Sung Joon killed me in this episode, because he was always on that emotional brink – so close to breaking apart but forcing himself to hold together.

I also miss Lee Minki, of course, and while I think his character would have made an awesome drama, I like this setup too. His character was, in my opinion, almost too big for a full run in a drama, and the drama would really have been only about him, just because he has such presence. It's lucky I already love Sung Joon though, since I watched White Christmas (I'm trying to forget Lie To Me ever happened).

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the writing is just so awesome. the characters are so well written, well rounded, fully developed...that everything about them MOVES you. that's what makes this drama so engaging for me. and we're only 3 ep's in!!!

if the "oh boy" series in general can keep upping the ante, with equal parts pretty + story + acting excellence, man...what a welcome change to the k-drama landscape!!

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I have a feeling we're going to see a lot of tension arise between Hyunsoo and Ji Hyuk. The former can potentially be swayed to the darker side because he can't take being ordered around like his parents. It will be interesting to see that. Thank good ness the two won't have a love triangle...that would have been the end of it.

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Thank you for the fast recap! I'm reading and will wait until all the episodes are subbed to watch. ^^ going to be awsome! :)

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Wow. Shut Up: FBB is really something. Man, I sure hope this thing tears at Seung-hoon and his friends. It may have been brushed under a rug, but it will be the skeleton in their closet they can never get rid of. Enjoying the ride on this one, and I'm just ready to bounce on to the next episode. Thanks for the recap.

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I'm liking this one. It has a gritty, indie/underground vibe mixed with teen melodrama.

Thanks for the rapid recap, JB - now will hope that DF subs are on par.
:)

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i could just FEEL the emotion and anger emanating from them! This is a very promising drama-i hope it continues to rise instead of fall.

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Wow, what a great episode. I hope somehow Seung-hoon redeems himself...or have his ego taken down a few notches. I hate how's he the rich boy with everything he wants (maybe except Su-ah), and though this really has nothing to do with him, I hate how his friends are such uncaring and cowardly people. Like Pyo-joo (is that...his name...) and his daddy's influence. Grrr, those things always make me SO mad.
But I like how without Byung-hee, the other members really shine. Even though I miss Byung-hee like hell. And I like Su-ah isn't that hateful, and she finds out about stuff and apologizes for it (like when she heard the voicemail). At first she was confused, but when she finds out at least she understands it was partially her fault (and then again, not really). I hate when people are like, "but it's not my fault!!" I also like how Su-ah realizes that Deo-mi and the rest of her friends are kinda self-centered too. While she may have not realized it earlier, with her being also rich, when she's poor and gets closer to the boys she starts to see the difference.
Can't wait for ep 4! (On a side note: How many "I like's" and "I hate" have I typed?)

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I'm actually really interested in the relationship between Su Ah and Seung Hoon. He obviously has romantic feelings for her, but she's not so sure, 'cause when Deo Mi called them a couple she rushed to assure her they weren't. But whenever Ji Hyuk goes to hit him, she always steps in. She's always protecting him. Actually, they're always protecting each other. I can understand why he does it--he's rich and probably has some kind of white knight syndrome--but why is she protecting him? She acts like he's her little brother. It makes me find Seung Hoon somewhat empathetic, or rather, it makes me take pause before lumping him in with the rest of his jerk friends. I wouldn't feel that way if she didn't keep on sticking up for him. I want to know why she does.

And damn. What kind of friends must a girl have for her to be afraid of telling them anything real about herself?

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I know, Seung-hoon is a little different from his friends, and I'm curious to know what's between him and Su-ah too. Maybe they're just helping each other out through hard times? ...Well that's a little simple for this story. I agree with you, I think the affection she has towards him is sibling-like, and while he actually likes her, probably confusing her halfway.
I think Su-ah is afraid that she'd become the bullied or outcast of her rich circle of friends. I don't know, at first I thought Deo-mi would be like a sidekick, but damn if that girl isn't self-centered and frivolous. It may be too early for me to say that, but I sure think she's not such a great friend. I guess Su-ah finds more comfort with being herself with Ji-hyuk. I think in their highschool it's sort of just showing off that you're rich, pretty, cool, etc., hang out with those people to be cool. They're probably using each other as stepping stones, and unlike Ji-hyuk and co., they don't form those bonds necessary to have a great friendship. Just my two cents. ;)

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Maybe her desire is not really to protect Seung-hoo, but to keep Ji Hyuk out of trouble? Who knows. But I too am interested in this dynamic.

People keep labeling Seung-hoo as the bad guy, but I'm not getting that vibe. It seems like he'll be a pretty decent ally in the end.

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I don't think he's the bad guy, but the rival, and that makes a big difference. Rival doesn't mean evil, and usually have a conscience and wants to win a fair fight. We've got yet to know in which category he is, evil or rival, but I have a feeling he's leaning more to the latter.
I like that Maro Kid, he's very straight forward in what he thinks even if it means blaming his friend. The only one that I find spoiled, and a coward with no redeeming is that Pyo-joo.

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She mentioned that they'd been friends for 10 years at one point, during the talk about his birthday. I'm sure she knows him better than anyone, and if we're getting hints that there's more to him than his friends, you can be sure that she knows what is in his heart as a human being. I don't think she's interested in him but he clearly is in her. I think she probably would have gone along with it and eventually developed feelings of some sort, but then our boys came along and shook up her heart at just the right moment. I honestly don't think Seung Hoon is a bad guy. He's entitled, but really, if you live in a sheltered world and that's what you know, how can you be blamed for that? As you mature you learn there's more to the world. It's the blind grown up I call out, not the blind child - we see already that he has empathy for Su Ah, and I think that will continue to expand.

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FRIGGIN A.

this drama aces it in all departments. i LOVE watching it. like, watching it, it's shot so well. i was nervous about the lee minki exit, and as much as i miss him and byunghee, i love where they've taken the story and the rest of the boys.

you're right about the expected kneeing, but it totally caught me off guard here, i actually gasped.

agh! their love for their leader makes me gush.

i love, love, love, this drama.

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OMG that bottle scene. I think I was genuinely frightened. He looked crazy.
Can't wait for tomorrow!

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I know. I mean, when a person hurts himself that badly without blinking an eye, is there even a need for him to beat you up afterwards? I'd be sacred enough from watching him maim his own hand.

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I fell in love with Sung Joon ever since White Christmas.

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Mmmm, I'm loving this show so far. Kyung Jong is my favorite. They're all pretty charismatic, even the quiet drummer guy, but I think Kyung Jong is the most charming. He's also the most affectionate, and I love how his character is sort of the squishy teddy bear for everyone else.

I think it helps that it's not an hour and some-odd minutes long: it keeps the story tight and the pacing quick, which works for this show. I wasn't expecting so much violence, though. I know they're rough-around-the-edges, street-wise teenage boys, but they've fought more than played instruments so far; I'm glad were going to be moving a little bit away from that.

I know that this story is about the boys, their struggles, their dreams, and their friendship (and I adore they're friendship--the way Ha Jin and Kyung Jong are always hugging!), but I hope that doesn't mean Su Ah gets the short end of the stick. We get little snippets of her in every episode, but as the central female here, I want her to have a really strong, really weel written story line, where she can exist as a character on her own, being more than just the girl that these two guys fight over. 'Cause as endearing as Byung Hee was, he was kind of a creeper when it came to her. I'm already invested Ji Hyuk's background with his mother and that whole messed up family situation (Sung Joon has a way of making him look unaffected and hurt at the same time), and I can't wait til we get more for Su Ah. I kind of feel like a jerk, 'cause I like the music from both bands. That asshole who's obsessed with dolphins can really play that guitar. It'll be cool to see how Eye Candy will beat out those guys.

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I agree with you, I love the friendship (bromance? That would make me one happy child) between Ha-jin and Kyung-jong. And Ji-hyuk, I love him. I can't wait to know his story, and I'm sure he'll be great. I remember before watching this finding it a little weird for his transition between cold, calculating genius (much like ...Strawberry Field. I'm sorry, that name is just ...odd sounding.) to passionate rocker. I was afraid that he'd be wooden, since he was so good at playing the emotionless character. I'm glad I'm wrong though and this show totally rocks my world. I love everyone. It's kind of weird. I usually have biases. And Hyun-woo is really working the "Ice Prince" look lol. I don't think he cried, ever. :)

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Forget Dream High 2 and its cookie-cutter theories, this is my drug.

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Mine too! I like dark!

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not certain though but im seeing jap actor Oguri Shun in Sung Joon...

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They do look similar especially in this role. Reminds me of Oguri shun's character in crows zero. The whole feel actually with the delinquents fighting to get power. Though shut up seems to be moving away from that which is fine by me. I want to see more music less fighting.

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Is it the teeth? XD

All that aside, I'm trying not to say this often, but this seriously feels like a Japanese Yankee film/drama. Whether we're comparing it to Crows Zero or Gokusen or Tumbling or Rookies, the elements are all there. Probably why I like it. XD

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i think do il being all silent is a testament to the kind of character he will bring out later. this episode suggest that do il's father MIGHT be some sort of a gang boss. jihyuk also has an interesting background after the lawyer on ep.2 shows up talking about his stepfather being a president...i'm guessing of a company.

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Thanks JB!

I LOVE what you said about how misleading the title is (and any reference to Veronica Mars is pure win). I was going to write this show off even before it started (high school pretty boys + potentially painful emo music + Zoolander-esque pouting and posing = No go). But thank you JB and GF for the recaps - if it weren't for you, I wouldn't have realized what a gritty and honest drama I was missing.

PS - where was Ji Hyuk and Byung Hee when I was in high school?

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Thank you for your wonderful recaps. I appreciate the gift of Lee Min Ki's absolutely awesome cameo and the way you put into words all the emotions I feel when watching this show.

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Dang, THIS MUST BE THE "IT" SONG FOR THE DAY!!!! Suits today very well, in remembrance of BH. o(ㅠ.ㅠ)o I love this badarse song sooooo much!

Now, back to reading recaps before this torrent is complete. THANK YOU SUPERFAST JB!

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The ending was totally surprising!! Even though I don't get what's the point of it. Naturally, it wasn't his doing, but the father's. What can he do at this point?

I think this will be the last recap I read of Flower Band since I want to actually watch it and be surprised than know it beforehand. I'll come back to recaps later.

I totally love Sung Joon's angry stare/ laser eyes!

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This recap made me cry. I feel so sad for the boys after having lost Byung Hee; it feels like he's the thick, tight rope that really binds them and protects them from outside dangers. Losing him must have really hurt. :'(

I hope they win that rock competition thing. Otherwise, I will feel worse. >.<

Those thoughts aside, is the song they sung on ep. 1 (in the club) released yet? I really liked it, and it's stuck on my head.

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Oh, stupid me. It was the song of the day. >.<

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You're not alone. :P I know this sounds really ridiculous, but I cried like a baby. All the while trying to hold it in because we had guests over. Good thing I moved my laptop from the living room to my room. I guess I just felt so unfair for the boys, and my attachment to Byung-hee grew more than I wanted. (Anger = tears? Angry tears? I dunno.) Didn't help that I was watching the episode while reading the recap. *sob

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this is wayyy late, but if anyone sees it, that's a cover of the Robert Smith/Crystal Castles song Not In Love.

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This definitely gonna be a good drama:]

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I do miss Lee Min-ki, but the show is just as good without him. I love this show. What great story-telling! I did not see the ending coming! What a great ending.

Thanks for the recap, Javabeans!

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wow, that stare. I'm feeling feverish and alternating b/w hot and cold. I can't wait when JH starts falling for SA: I'll be exhilirated and jealous of SA simultaneously.

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Thanks for the recap! I love love love this show. I had actually been in a drama funk lately, so this is actually THE show to get me going again.

Does anyone know how the ratings have been so far?

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i dont know what it is but any movie/drama that has something to do with a very close friendship draws me in.
i'd rather watch a drama about friendship than a drama about love between male&female.

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Ah! I forgot to say ... thanks for the recap!
Also, I'm really going to miss Lee Minki. I was starting to get quite attracted to his aberrations. I know his character's death was a necessity, but still. He was freaking hilarious. I want to see him in more dramas as the reckless wackjob.
Anyway. More people need to watch this drama. Like, for real. Whoever isn't watching this is totally missing out on something good.

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I LOVE this show! It's so edgy and fun. Thanks for recapping.

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And *this* is why I need to learn Korean.

Totally just scrolled to the bottom of this post to say that, btw.

Have to waiiiit.

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My heart beats for this show.

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What a sad episode.....I will watch it w/ eng. sub when it comes out.

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So far so good.Gritty and interesting set of characters.

Going to miss Lee Min ki.He definitely has a charismatic screen presence and didn't know he could sing so well.

Sung Jung was MEH in Lie to Me.He's has improve so much in this role.

Really enjoying this drama. Love the music and the new actors.

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I knew Sung Joon has so much in him and that FAILED "Lie to me" was NOT meant to be a measure!!

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OMG I was stalking your website for the recap....Show IS JUST Brilliant...and I love the bond btw the guys. It's them against the world. The JH totally SHINED in this episode. I also cannot wait for JH to start falling for SA. there is so much angst there and so much Pride and Prejudice....just perfect for me. I think JH is going to fight his attraction to SA non stop as he will consider her his friend's 'girl' but then can't help being attracted to her. Another hurdle I also forsee is the circumstances having him choose btw his bros and SA, threatened by Robot boy, lol.....and he will probably pick his bros.

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I like that in this drama, I'm not eagerly waiting for the love aspect because I'm already loving the other conflicts and the whole bromance. Usually, I feel like I keep waiting for them to connect, fall in love, jealousy and all that. Of course, I love the natural progress of understanding between the two leads. But I actually can't wait for Eye Candy to beat the rich boys more than anything else!!

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I have been religiously reloading dramafeaver to watch this. Whats amazing is that they have listed this as comedy. I was thinking of not reading the recaps but rather watching the show then reading the recap. But i saw the recap and could not help it! Ina side note according to the relationship chart Hyun-soo and Ji-hyuk were friends before Ji-hyuk became close friends with Byung-hee. So maybe some of the tension is because of that?
I have so much stuff to be for school but this show just keeps pulling me into it!

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Wow. I'm crying by just reading the recap. Shut Up just in time after What's Up. I screamed a little when he fell down on his knee. Nooooo.

Wow. Its a good story and let's hope TVN keep this up. I mean if shut up already better that FBRS, we can hope the next one also good.

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Sufb>>> dh2 in my opinion. If only this drama was aired on the big 3...

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i love all the bromancing, angst and tension broiling together. The only weak link thus far, Soo-ah. I REALLY hope her character shines brighter in the next couple of episodes, because thus far, apart from her gorgeous looks and decent personality (amidst the snobbiest of snobs), she doesn't have that charm or charisma that merits attraction as the female lead. if the acting remains "kind and timid girl" characterization, i will be sorely disappointed.

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Thank you for recapping so fast!

Well, this show is responsible for being my first in a couple of ways:

1) I NEVER read recaps until I've watched the episode. This is the only show where I've subconsciously opened the episode and started reading it without even realizing it. For a show to make me do that, it speaks volumes of the character, directing, and the way the story has taken me in.

2) I NEVER cry when I read recaps. But that scene when they shoot fireworks and they scream: "Can you see them, Byung hee?!!!" I just burst like a dam. God, just writing it down is making me cry again.

I've never been this into a show before. I mean. what is this, like the 3rd episode.

All in all,
this show is amazing!!!

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I cried like hell when they were shooting the fireworks....

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me too.. and when i finally watched it i knew it was coming and i paused and prepared my self for it but still ended up crying.

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Hey Thanks, JB! I am finally able to say that I got caught up on this show.

I confess that I a peeved about losing Lee Min-Ki... Who says that they all couldn't reach their potential with him still in the drama? Satellites shine just as brightly as stars in the sky when they are hit with bright light.

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love this show! love how much Sang hee from Lie to Me has grown. was hoping for a breakout role for him and this is it!

i haven't read through all the comments but is it just me who thinks MUSE girl is a total female version of Kim Hyun joong (Jihoo sunbae) i mean her face. i can't help get distracted a little everytime she shows up lol

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oh and hyun soo is giving me bad feelings... are they foreshadowing some future conflicts? i hope nto!

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I could totally see anakin in hyun soo. gives me chills.

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Thank you for recaping Shut Up Flower Boy Band.

The Band - Angujeonghwa (Eye Candy):

Lee Min-ki: BYUNG-HEE, leader, vocals.
Sung Joon: KWON JI-HYUK, guitarist.
L: LEE HYUN-SOO, second guitarist.
Lee Hyun-jae: JANG DO-IL, drummer.
Yoo Min-kyu: KIM HA-JIN, bassist.
Kim Min-seok: SEO KYUNG-JONG, keyboardist.

Reminds me of the Greasers a gang of tough, low-income youths in Tulsa, Oklahoma from a 1983 film titled The Outsiders is a 1983 American drama film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, an adaptation of the novel The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton.

While the band members of Strawberry Fields at Jungsang High School:

Jung Eui-Chul: YOO SEUNG-HOON, leader
??: The brainy Maro
??: not-so-brainy Pyo-joo

Seung-hoon and his boys

Reminds me of the Socs (pronounced "soashes," short for the word 'Social'), a gang of preppier, wealthier kids.

And, Jo Boa: Su-ah - the Muse of Byung-hee - was a rich girl but no more. Reminds me of Cherry, a girlfriend of the Socs.

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I loved the Outsiders! One of my favorite books ever. :) No wonder I like Flower Band so much :P

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We even have the death.

EXCELLENT comparison! Let's hear it for English classes all across the land, since everyone, everywhere, always reads the same novels!

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The Outsiders!! YOU ARE RIGHT!!

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The Outsiders a memorable quote from Ponyboy:

"There are two kinds of people in the world: greasers and socs. A soc (short for "social") has money, can get away with just about anything, and has an attitude longer than a limousine. A greaser, on the other hand, always lives on the outside and needs to watch his back."

Ponyboy is a greaser, and he's always been proud of it, even willing to rumble against a gang of socs for the sake of his fellow greasers.

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What a great comparison; it makes the show that much greater for me. I love Ponyboy.

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yup. i found the drama of 2012 that will twist the knife in the heart. this episode was too painful...in a good way.

acting was stellar by sung-joon is it? i found myself crying the first half and getting excited at the latter half. i love this group of boys. i don't care how the rest of this drama is going to progress (though i do have full confidence they'll do perfectly fine), the first 3 episodes were so amazing, i'll never forget it.

thank you tvN and thank you SUFBB.

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