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A Gentleman’s Dignity: Episode 20 (Final)

FINAL EPISODE RECAP

javabeans: Cold open! Ha, I love that these actors play themselves at half their ages, like in this scene where they’re all decked out in school uniforms and totally playing blind to the fact that they’re acting with, like, 17-year-olds.

girlfriday: This is my favorite, just for the ridiculous factor of these guys in those uniforms.

javabeans: Aw, is this from before they were even all friends?

girlfriday: Okay, I love this. Do we finally get to see how they got to be friends?

javabeans: So Tae-san calls out Do-jin from class, and Jung-rok calls out Yoon, both for different grievances. Only to find they both head to the same bit of lawn for their confrontations, leading to a bigger confrontation between the two twosomes. So now everyone’s insulting everyone in turn, and everyone has beef with everyone else. It’s a musical chairs of adolescent aggro posturing. I love it.

girlfriday: You’d think Yoon doesn’t fit here, ‘cause he’s the smart nerdy kid, but then when he says he’s first place, Do-jin gets up in his face, all, “Are you why I’m second?” Tae-san’s just interested in being the best fighter, and Jung-rok is mostly just a punk. It ends in a four-way brawl dogpile, and then they’re lying the grass together, looking up at the sky.

javabeans: It’s a sweet sentiment that closes the sequence, that they became friends for really no particular reason, but that it grows into something special anyway. Then we open the episode proper with an extension on that theme — the high school boys of the present day. The bullied classmate has called Dong-hyub, Colin, and Third Amigo to the roof, and surprises them by flat-out thanking them and also apologizing for the run-in with his mom.

girlfriday: Aw, is he gonna be their Yoon?

javabeans: This is so cute. I get that there’s some kind of past history here, and clearly Dong-hyub thinks he’s a punk, but No. 4 is so pleased to be talking to this trio, like he’s wanted to be friends with them awhile: “I really wanted to come up to the roof, ‘cause you guys come up here.”

girlfriday: Yeah Sung-jae was a punk and his mom is even worse. But it’s adorable that they end up friends. A teacher comes up, so they scramble and lie down, as Do-jin narrates that somewhere, other boys are turning into them.

javabeans: We move on to the scene that ended Episode 19 at the club, rewound a few minutes. The guys wonder how to locate their ladies, but Do-jin sees a waiter entering a private room with a pricey bottle. Bingo. Hilariously, a waiter comes to that very room pulling a quartet of guys along (by the wrist) to be booked to this uber-rich lady and her beautiful friends. Ha, they’re like F44 clones, minus about ten years.

girlfriday: Their reactions are hysterical. They walk up and Do-jin says actually the women in there are “His, his, and my woman,” and Jung-rok asks why he doesn’t get one. “You’re divorced.”

javabeans: The guys enter and growl their “introductions” and then level their girlfriends with accusations, like how you’re getting married in a few days and you’re doing what? Then Jung-rok caps it all off with, “I know we’re divorced, but… should I sing a song?” The other guys shoot him WTF looks, and he shrugs, like, I didn’t know what else to say.

girlfriday: Hilariously, Min-sook gets on the service phone to complain that the men they sent in are sub-par.

javabeans: Sera gets up and says, “Well, since we’ve been caught… I wanna go dance.” The others follow her out to the main floor, and the boys watch sulkily from the balcony. The guys claim their girlfriends one by one, and Jung-rok joins Min-sook on the dance floor. When she informs him that her ex-husband has no place butting in, he tells her he’s here as a divorcé, out looking for a divorcée to romance. And then he puts earbuds in her ear to play her… the Macarena? Dude needs serious romancing tips.

girlfriday: Haha. Maybe that’s how he lured her the first time?

javabeans: Or his strategy is to shock her so much that logic flies out the window? So then they dance there in the middle of the club floor to the Macarena, while everyone else laughs and stares. Admittedly, when you’re bopping along to Kangnam Style, it’s not like you’ve got a leg to stand on, is there?

girlfriday: They are adorable, dancing together to their own music in the middle of the floor, no matter how ridiculous.

javabeans: We resume with Do-jin and Yi-soo out the club, where he basically tells she’s pretty and that she’d better not to come to places like this ever again. Bleh. And then they make out. The less said about this whole exchange, the better, I figure.

girlfriday: They kiss; that’s all that’s important. Do-jin and Tae-san score a new contract, and then Do-jin tells Jung-rok about Yoon getting blasted by Meahri’s parents. Jung-rok wonders if they opposed the marriage, but no, it was mostly the timing because they didn’t want her to marry before Tae-san. So she… told them she was pregnant.

javabeans: Sigh. This is what happens when you learn life lessons from dramas.

girlfriday: Seriously. I’m just thankful this part is offscreen and we’re just getting the play-by-play from Do-jin.

javabeans: Aw, so it turns out both Colin and Dong-hyub got that fast-food job after all. That’s so cute. And because they’re cute, they of course have the schoolgirls hanging all around, drooling over oppas. Meahri pops in to ask Colin to sing her a song at her wedding, and he grimaces, telling her flat-out that he liked her. She’s all, “So? If you liked me, you should do something to congratulate me.”

girlfriday: Pwahaha.

javabeans: Is that funny? ‘cause without context, it seems like Big Ole Brat.

girlfriday: Oh, she’s totally a brat. I’m laughing at her, along with Dong-hyub, whose side-eye is cracking me up. Like what planet did she come from?

javabeans: Yoon visits the memorial vault to tell his deceased wife he’s letting her go now, asking for her permission and forgiveness to marry and be happy with Meahri.

girlfriday: Is it that Yoon is the only one who got a deeper storyline, or that Kim Min-jong was the only one acting in this drama?

javabeans: I think A precipitated B. Then Yoon goes wedding planning with the bride, who says she’s so nervous that her parents will rescind their approval that she wants to register the marriage in advance, and have babies — ‘cause the parents reaaaaaaally want grandkids. Then we’re at the ceremony, reading vows… and are they seriously really vowing not to get fat and keep up a skincare regimen? I get that this is all in lighthearted fun… but they’re also YOUR WEDDING VOWS.

girlfriday: Er?

javabeans: On a shallower note, I think she looks adorable. Love the short froofy wedding dresses.

girlfriday: And it totally fits her character. It’s weird to have Colin singing at them given his very recent confession, but it’s a nice song.

javabeans: Yeah, I think I much prefer this acoustic version to the studio one, though it’s also that he has a nice voice. So Meahri primps that night, emerging from her room excitedly… to see Yoon drinking with the buddies. Oh noes. Trouble from Night 1?

girlfriday: Haha. You don’t marry just one; you marry them all.

javabeans: Um, do you want to rephrase that, given one of them is her brother?

girlfriday: Right, yunno, something not incestuous. I love drunk Yoon’s just a little longer gesture. So Meahri comes back a little later… to find them all asleep.

javabeans: So much for a romantic wedding night. Next up: A baseball game day for the boys, which starts off with an interview of Yi-soo. She talks a little bit about being an ump, then for reasons that elude me, the interviewer asks if she has a boyfriend.

girlfriday: Yeah, it makes no sense.

javabeans: I get WHY the writer did it, since Do-jin has arrived to overhear the interview, but it’s just the clunkiest thing ever. Yi-soo says that her boyfriend is the most jealous guy ever, who’d pick a fight with the wind for blowing right by his girlfriend, but that she likes that about him. Sigh. I’m… trying not to take any of this to heart since it’s such a fluff drama to begin with…. but let’s just say that I’m remembering all too clearly why I can’t stand to watch this writer’s dramas through.

girlfriday: This is only the second drama of hers I’ve finished, but yeah, she doesn’t change it up much. So the game starts and Do-jin pitches in Yoon’s place, which is predictably a disaster. I really love the moment when Tae-san approaches the mound to coach Do-jin and Jung-rok runs up, “Pretend we’re saying something important!” Tae-san: “WE ARE!”

javabeans: Do-jin nearly beans a bunch of batters, which leads to a fight between the teams, and while the others push each other around Jung-rok just shoots hearts up at Min-sook in the stands. Cute. They end up losing 21 to 2, HAHA.

girlfriday: Yi-soo yells at him for being a terrible pitcher, and decides she’ll have to teach him how to bat at least. It’s extra humiliating that she does it with a toy bat, but that seems about right for his skill level. He goes home to finish up his red yarn house design project, and then the next time they meet, he says they should get married, and gives her a present. A… lollipop bouquet? And then on their next date, he asks her again to marry him and gives her a tiara. Okay, I’m confused by her reaction. Does she not want to marry him, or is she not getting what he’s saying?

javabeans: Is she just leaving him hanging each time? Or playing coy? His proposals, while not said in a heavy tone, seem straightforward and serious.

girlfriday: Knowing this character, I think she’s not understanding that he’s asking her to marry him, which is just weird.

javabeans: So then she’s stupid? She doesn’t understand words?

girlfriday: When someone says the words, “Will you marry me” over and over and over…. I think it means Will you marry me.

javabeans: He gives her another present on another date, a big box, and her response is literally, “Will you cut it out now?”

girlfriday: To me that says, I don’t want to marry you. No?

javabeans: She assumes he’s joking — and okay, I sort of see that if you thought it was a joke, it would be mean. But he’s proposed five times by her count, and I’m pretty sure that’s not a thing people do just for kicks.

girlfriday: He throws in a joke about his amnesia, which makes her angrier. So was that whole short-term memory loss thing just like a fakeout plot threat, like we’re waiting for the other shoe to drop all drama long but it never does? I never understood the point of that character trait, other than to give him a reason to record everything.

javabeans: Now he gets this sad look on his face and apologizes, saying that he likes things to be entertaining — a serious meaning at the core, but wrapped up in a fun package. Yi-soo goes home and finds a white dress in the box, which makes her take out the other gifts and put them together. Oh, so NOW you get it? It’s a wedding dress, a tiara, a bouquet.

girlfriday: If the purpose of that was for some kind of narrative surprise, it short-changes the heroine, and um, we’re not surprised.

javabeans: I actually think the writer did it all backward. She blew her wad. It would’ve been cuter if Yi-soo figured it out and he HADN’T been saying “Will you marry me” the whole time.

girlfriday: Yeah just random gift boxes left on her doorstep or something, right?

javabeans: Or he could have said he had a really important question to ask her, given her the boxes, and left her scratching her head, like, Where’s the question? Then she’d finally put them together and get it.

girlfriday: Totally. Cute proposal wasted. Yoon and Meahri come back from their honeymoon, and it’s cute that now Tae-san is all Choi suhbang this and Our Choi suhbang that.

javabeans: His attentiveness has Jung-rok and Do-jin pouting, which is cute. Tae-san gives him all the chicken legs and spoons food onto his plate like an overzealous mother-in-law. Then he offers a wing to Yi-soo, saying she should fly away while she’s got the chance. She jokingly takes it, but Do-jin doesn’t even respond. Well, you asked for serious and non-jokey.

girlfriday: The first thing that happens to Yoon after getting married is discovering that his eyesight is failing, due to old age. I just find it funny that it’s Tae-san who holds his hand and takes him to the doctor.

javabeans: Jung-rok tells Min-sook about it, sighing that aging sucks. She’s like, duh, I get it. He’s confused about where they stand given recent events, and asks for clarification. She replies that they’re like a couple who’s on the verge of divorce — you’ve signed papers and are ready to go forward, “like all married couples in the world.” Uh, I’m not sure that’s really an apt analogy. I see what it’s supposed to mean, that you’re really only ever one decision away from being together or apart, but… I sorta feel like her way is the antithesis of marriage, no? It’s one foot out the door, staying together ‘cause for now it’s easier than splitting up, or something.

girlfriday: Perhaps for them it’s more like marriage made them complacent, but being on the verge of divorce is what sparked them to find a way to be happy together.

javabeans: Then I wish she’d just said that. Because the other thing just rubs me the wrong way.

girlfriday: She says she’s giving up on having kids, but hands over a brochure of kids to sponsor, saying that he’s a dad now and this is what they’ll do with that alimony he didn’t want.

javabeans: Yi-soo drops in to see Meahri and asks if being married is so wonderful, and gets an emphatic yes. Meahri hands her the yearbooks she stole from Do-jin at Yi-soo’s request, ha. Although why doesn’t she just ask him to see them? Yi-soo recalls Do-jin saying he had the same passwords to everything, and asks what they are. Um. Uh. I hope she’s not planning on doing anything with that info.

girlfriday: Yeah that’d be weird. I don’t think so, because it seems like mostly a character note — Meahri says their lock codes are all 1233 because they’re all too lazy to even make it down to the next row of numbers. Yi-soo crosses off the last thing on her list of one-sided love things to do and then sends Do-jin the picture she took while wearing all his presents. This time she asks him if he’s not going to ask her to marry him anymore, and he reacts coldly, saying it’s clear she likes him but not enough to live with him.

javabeans: Sera comes back after her competition, and while talking with Tae-san on the phone, she collapses. He rushes to the hospital, and is informed she’s pregnant. He’s excited, she’s decidedly not. She pouts that she won’t be rushed into marriage, nor will she wear a wedding gown with a pregnant belly — so she’ll have the baby, get her figure back, and THEN marry him. He’s all, sure sure whatever yes. Which is cute. But as I understand it, she never wanted to marry… so the pregnancy-automatically-results-in-marriage turn seems sort of tacked-on.

girlfriday: She was coming around to the idea of marrying him, since getting back together pretty much meant they’d compromise at some point. At least she gets to marry him on her terms without the baby forcing their hand? She seems more upset by having to retire her golfing career than anything.

javabeans: Do-jin and Yi-soo go walking down the street where they first met, and today Yi-soo’s subdued and a little snippy — he’s back to his normal mood, but she’s all, You want me to take a picture with your buddies? Why? They’re bringing their wives and future wives, but we’re not in that kind of relationship are we? It seems to be deliberately provoking, given their recent exchanges, but I guess Yi-soo’s just one of those characters I’ll never understand. She calls him out for always confusing her — she never knows whether to take hims seriously or not. To which he says he’s told her repeatedly he’s serious, and if she can’t trust him, then he’ll have to convince her.

girlfriday: Yeah she’s the character I understand the least. She’s just riddled with inconsistencies. I also feel like she’s made to be slow on the uptake when it’s convenient for the plot. Because it’d seem more romantic if she were unaware. But mostly it’s confusing.

javabeans: It makes it seem like she’s the girl who just wants the big showy gesture, the flashy ring, the whole song and dance — and I don’t actually think that’s true. But her actions are more of what you’d see of that material girl, the one who doesn’t believe you mean it unless your ring is a rock and you plan a big event with the public as witnesses.

girlfriday: Right, which isn’t at all what Yi-soo is like. But because the plot requires it, she’s suddenly really dense and needing this kind of affirmation.

javabeans: But since she needs the external confirmation, Do-jin takes his voice recorder, enters a shop, and hooks it up to their PA. What ensues is a string of “Marry me”s. That leads into a literal flash mob as all their friends show up to dance along to a proposal song. Do-jin approaches as the song cuts out, and presents her with the yarn-house drawing: “I’ll build you a house like this. Live here with me.”

girlfriday: I feel like showing us that sketch before Yi-soo sees it is another wad blown too early. It would’ve made for a really touching reveal. Especially because he says it’ll be a house that no one leaves, something she had told him she always wanted.

javabeans: Yeah, it would’ve poured all the emotion into HER moment.

girlfriday: Also, it cracks me up that Do-jin got everyone else to do the silly dance but he shows up all suited up and not having to do anything embarrassing.

javabeans: They did all the work! He just showed up and looked cool.

girlfriday: I like the little cut to Dong-hyub, who tells Colin that he can top his my-dad’s-friend-stole-my-would-be-first-love, with my-friend’s-dad-just-stole-my-first-love, and they both sigh.

javabeans: We zip ahead to the big photo shoot, the one the boys take every decade, and Do-jin narrates about the button hole on a man’s suit that’s for a boutonniere. It’s a cute little point, to show each lady smoothing out her man’s lapel now, which is adorned with a different flower. Do-jin says how men don’t really “grow up,” they just get older, which I think is pretty much the whole point of this show.

girlfriday: Yup. That’s it in a nutshell. And then we get an epilogue with Do-jin and Yi-soo lying in bed. She says that she’s still surprised sometimes to find him lying next to her, and he smiles, “Me too.” Yi-soo: “I love you.” The end.

javabeans: I’m… trying to think up thoughts to wrap up the drama. But this show is like teflon on the brain. You sizzle on its surface for a moment, then whoosh! Off everything slides and you have to strain yourself to remember anything about it.

girlfriday: I can’t say it did much of anything (say, have a story) but I suppose we got the four actors being cute together. I kind of had more fun watching the bloopers ‘cause they’re just so darned cute saying these lines that they know are ridiculous. I guess the drama pretty much starts and stops with that: F44, and rest, like you said, evaporates.

javabeans: I do understand why it was popular, and why people enjoyed watching it. It was very simple and fun, with enough lightness to keep you popping the episodes like popcorn in a movie. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. It’s just that if I find nothing to connect with at all — if it’s all gloss with nowhere to find purchase — then I’m going to have zero attachment or level of caring about it. People watch dramas for different reasons and I pretty much think they’re all valid (reasons, I mean). Based on mine, this drama didn’t really do anything for me — I suppose I had a few moments of laughter, so there’s that. I didn’t love anyone, but I didn’t hate anyone either. I would have liked to care, though.

girlfriday: It was a fun, breezy watch for me. I wasn’t invested enough to tear my hair out about anything, and mostly just watched for the amusing foursome. I didn’t much expect to care though, because the way this show was plotted had no narrative drive. It was so very thinly strung together, like a series of vignettes.

javabeans: What’s too bad is that I got nothing out of the show, in that I could’ve watched it, or not watched it, and it made no difference. I don’t have to necessarily love a drama to get something out of it, but it’s rare that one will make no blip on the radar at all. I think I’m just really not the audience for this kind of storytelling.

girlfriday: Oh it’s not like negative space for me. I found it enjoyable as a passive thing, though clearly recapping it and trying to make sense of characters would have made me feel very differently about it all. And Kim Min-jong and Jang Dong-gun in a drama together is like a sentimental thing for me. I can’t not watch that.

javabeans: Eh, I think I’d rather rewatch The Last Match and Feelings. Where they actually acted and had feelings.

girlfriday: Well DUH.

 
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Thank you for this last and final recap. I still need to catch up on the last episodes, but I don't know why I am more interrested in the recaps than in the episodes themselves ^^

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I mean more interrested in reading the recaps than watching the last episodes lol

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*raises hand*

I know the answer to this one!

Because Javabeans and Girlfriday are better writers and have more imagination than the Secret Garden + AGD fluff writer :p

(yep, I dropped the show midway despite being really excited about it at first)

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the last episode is predictable and little boring, but this drama still no 2 drama of the year for me untill now, no 1 is bridal mask

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same here, i lost interest after a few episodes, and even then i don't really remember what i watched. i think jb and gf would make much much better writers...

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MAD-CAPPING. you go, girls.

screen shots are fab!!!! thanks for putting this mess to rest.

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Thank you for this last recap! I still have to watch the last 20mns of this episode and then I will be able to comment on it, although I know what I think about the drama as a whole. I will be back later to comment... I think it is quite telling that I have been taking my time to watch the last episode (I skimmed through it raw, and now I need to watch it with subs, the last 20mns, that is).

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Let me tell you I feel the same

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Hi Jen,
Right? I know this drama was supposed to be fluff, but even being fluff mostly, it could have been so much more, is all I am sayin'...

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I enjoy reading your recaps. Thank you!!!

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oh thank god it's done. ahhahaha

Best words... "It was so very thinly strung together, like a series of vignettes."

That is exactly how I felt about this show... Felt like a daily sitcom than a 20 episode drama. But what's worse is... daily sitcom had more depth than this.

Too bad. It started out so well.

Just like how you guys were coming up with different scenarios that would've made the show more logical / powerful, I thought the same thing throughout the entiiiire show. There were SO many things they could've done. But instead, they did nothing!! Frustraaatioonnnnn.

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"thank god it's done" --> YES! closure ...
I was so crazy about this drama for a while, it's scary! In hindsight, this must be the least "sticky" drama I've ever (almost) finished watching. Frustration sums it up real nice.

The more I think about it, the more I hate both Do-Jin and Yi-soo. For a while, I thought he was cool, but ... grrrrr. What an uninteresting, self-centered, shallow man! And Yi-soo's character must be one of the worst ever written. And there is simply nothing in 20 episodes that explains the attraction between the two.

As for JDG and KHN: I don't think there was much chemistry between them in RL (and she seems outright scared of him in the press conference footing), and there wasn't much of an effort to act if there was.

This is the third of Kim Eun-sook's dramas I've seen. I thoroughly enjoyed City Hall, mainly due to Kim Sun-ah and Cha Seung-Won's interactions. I kinda enjoyed Secret Garden, at least for a while, before the character traits of both male and female leads started to get on my nerves big time; and before it simply went nowhere and then, somehow, ended. AGD is probably the last I'll watch, because I now 'get' her style and I don't like it: she gets you invested and excited but then leaves you out in the cold, while turning potentially interesting characters into annoying or even hateful caricaturs.

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Thanks Kakashi, for explaining so well why I am inordinately disappointed in this show. I loved City Hall to pieces, it is one of my all-time favorites. I liked Secret Garden - it had some funny moments, but it was harder to excuse the jerky hero because his background didn't make it quite as excusable, and there were fewer big issues/big ideas.

The trend continues with AGD - even more light and fluffy, an even jerkier hero with even less reason for being so...and I compare AGD with City Hall and think, where was the conflict? Where was the bigger message? Where were the characters that you could get behind because you understood them, they acted in a way consistent with their character?
Do Jin was City Hall's Jo Guk with no good reason for the jerkitude, a tenth of the character growth, and 0 chemistry. I would say they both rocked the suits. And I am not even going to compare the heroines - the less said about the way YS was written and acted, the better.
I want my City Hall writer back, wherever she's gone; I like cotton candy, but not twenty hours of it.

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Whatever it is... Seriously, I don't understand why flashmob is necessary for a good proposal these days. I really don't get it. The drama just down right confuses me and made me wonder why I started watching it in the first place. Sure, it has its cute moments -- but... Well, I don't think I'll ever re-watch this drama...

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I believe the writer is just ripping this awesome proposal:
http://youtu.be/7yNdpaSBTzo

As much as I love the F44, the proposal scene did nothing for me..just like the rest of the drama.

Next!!

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Same here. To be brutally honest, I found the proposal scene excruciatingly tacky. It was just plain awful. Makes me cringe to the deepest shade of red.

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Thanks you guys so much for finishing it!

I just loved how cute the drama was. Yeah, there was the bare minimum in terms of plot movement but then again, who watched it for that? I see why Jang Dong Gun and Han Ye Seul are so popular. I loved them.

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Kim Ha Neul, you mean?

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Thanks for the recap! I loved the flash mob scene and replayed it several times. It was like a curtain call at the end of a stage performance and I do like it when a drama brings back all the characters at the end so we can see them one last time and to say bye to them. And it was heartwarming to see all these people in their lives participate in Do Jin and Yi Soo's happiness. Tae-san and Sera totally rocked it.

With such a thin plot and a lackluster heroine (been making excuses for Yi Soo for most of the series, but not getting that Do Jin was asking her to marry him was just too dumb and insenstive to tolerate), it was one of those moments that reminded me of why I've been enjoying this drama. The drama is just so damn fun and cute. And it's got a feel good tone. Do Jin's reflections are pretty spot on. And the characters are for the most part pretty nice and I managed to feel just invested in them enough to follow them (maybe except for Meahri whom I gave up on a few episodes ago). It is a drama that makes me smile.

This series definitely feels like a series of vignettes, which isn't a bad thing. But there are just so many things that the writer could have done to keep the vignette feel and still elevate the story and the characters. There were sadly a lot of missed opportunities.

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Hmm. As far as Do-Jin's comments being spot-on, this is one drama I would never share with my husband, because he would be extremely insulted by both what Do-Jin has to say and also the "truth" of men never growing up. Just imagine if they made a show with that premise about women...I can just image our collective response...

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Hello Skelly,

Thank you so much for making that comment. I know that this is just a drama, and so we cut it a lot of slack (and I mean, A LOT OF SLACK), but I am glad to know that your husband would be offended by Do Jin's comments, because I personally disagreed a lot with him (DJ) and I found many of his behavior idiotic, stupid and dumb (I think they basically mean the same thing, but that's how strongly I felt, that I kind of repeat myself...).

Don't get me wrong, I think that some of what DJ did and said was cute and actually endearing (him getting his friends to threaten YS's brothers was awesome, the board with the house with the yarn was also nice. Him saving her, when she pretended she liked him in front of everyone at the bar place, was also nice). There were some nice touches here and there, not enough for me to be wowed by this drama, and I have to say that I feel that DJ was a poorly written character, imho.

Like someone said here, DJ had very little character growth. I mean, a 41 year old man who crashes his (expensive and beloved) car to impress a girl? (and the problem with that being that those kinds of things were not the type of things that would impress YS anyway...). I failed to see the logic in that (and I know that he was supposed to be jealous), because I didn't feel that it accomplished anything with her.

The comment about "men not maturing, but just getting older" does happen in RL, with both men and women IF they don't want to grow. You HAVE TO WANT to grow and learn from your mistakes, otherwise you don't (unfortunately). And some people do not want to face their mistakes and learn from them. I am sure glad that in RL, not every man AND woman is like that, because some of us would not be dating, getting married, staying married or stay in relationships. Just my opinion. And I am glad (for you) that your husband is different and thinks differently.

And I agree with you, that if the same things were said and portrayed about women, we would have a fit. So, why the double standard? Is this a way to say that it is OK for men to be this way? (in dramaland at least?)

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Thanks Ivoire!

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I don't know so much about that Skelly and Ivoire...Did you guys ever watch "Green fried tomatoes"? There is a scene where the older woman bashes crashes and rams her car into the younger girls car that pissed her off by being quicker in stealing a parking slot...because "she is older and her insurance covers it"

Dojin's stance that men grow old, not up...it's just a way of saying that we, old over the 4th floor still have the will to enjoy life even if some times we incurr in behaviour that'd suit an adolescent better. I remember once a friend of mine said that men loved to have sons just because that gave them the perfect excuse to go back to play group.

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Thanks for the recap.

Hated the proposal.

It looked under-rehearsed.

The drama was "meh"

I watched it, but wasn't sure why.

I was surprised by how many people seam to enjoy it.

I think I kept watching it hoping to figure out its appeal---unfortunately, I never did.

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This drama was different for me. I really enjoyed Yoons character and for a long time only watched for his story line and later on when the show began to show Colin and his highschool friendships blossoming I really liked it. But the rest... I don't know. I don't hate this drama but I don't love it. The greatest part of the show was the Guys and their friendship.

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Thanks for the recap, really thank you so much, Javebeans and Girlfriday :)

I was having trouble to finish this drama because of this silliness. It has the cuteness, but didn't bring the heart and the soul, and somehow all the potentials were wasted. (Sigh) Well, at least Kim Min Jong and Jang Dong Gun together brought back some good memories from my childhood :)

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I did like this drama but I can understand the dislike to. Going to miss F44.

Thanks for recapping the last two episodes!

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I'm like, must check who the writer is. Horror of all horrors I've seen 7 out of her 8 dramas. eeep what's wrong with me. *secret* I enjoyed four immensely. *cough* I didn't say that.

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I kinda just stream through the last episode. Considering I've been watching this from ep1 till ten something. I wanted to know how Gentleman Dignity ends.

Funny thing, my friends is crazy about Kim Do jin, not, Jang Dong Gun, but the character, I don't really understand her. but, now, I kinda understand why the writer so successful with secret garden and then this. Its somehow appeal to some (can I say a lot?) of women.

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Thanks for the recap!

I needed light and fluffy, so I watched 11 episodes of this drama. Then I gave up and just read the recaps. It saved a lot of time. I stopped watching b/c of the actor who played Colin. His expression just wouldn't change and for some reason that was the last straw, lol. I know he's an idol, but there are idols I can watch. Lee Ki Kwang was funny in Me Too Flower.

Anyway, I think this drama cured me of the need for light and fluffy. On to Gaksital!

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This is not my favorite Kim Haneul drama. I think she spent most (if not whole) drama looking pretty, worried about what she looks like on screen (at least that's what I felt anyway when watching her). I like her when she's being herself. I think there are times she overacted and sometimes, should I say "force" act??
I only watched this drama for the sake of F44's friendship and JDG's return to small screen.
Thanks for the recap.

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I loved this show. You have to take it at surface value and not look for the deep meaning of anything. Although there was depth in the F44 relationship. I thought it was funny and entertaining. Especially with the different aspects of each F44's relationship with their women.

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Thanks GF! It's finish now.
I think I'll watch this episode, just the flash mob part. It looks like hillarious ^___,^

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i especially didn't like how Kim Haneul asked questions...
You know when she goes like,
e.g. '너...어디 아프니?'
'나... 좋아해요?'
etcetc...
I hate that pause >__<
It just made me go against her... :c
Which is a pity because I liked her in 1 night 2 days last time...

My favourite part in the whole drama was the mini job interview when Dong Hyub and Colin were both trying to get the job =D so cute ^^ but I think that if a cute scene is the best a drama can give, that's not very good at all :C

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Thanks for the recap!
Like the other said, I am actually more interested in reading your recaps than watching the show. But I did finish it, and I was, very much anticipating the show to be honest, only because of Kim Min-jong and if there is anything i got out of the show, it is Kim Min-jong.

In terms of the plot, completely agree with you that "It was so very thinly strung together, like a series of vignettes." Especially for the Do-jin/Yi-soo relationship, such a waste of JDG and I don't find any chemistry between this leading couple of the show, I skipped most of their scenes anyway. The prologues are better written in comparison to the main story-line, but there are a lot more to be shown between the four boys but again the show is over. I guess I am glad it is over.

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And that's why I love you, girls!
Thanks for these 2 final recaps. I had fun reading them.

As for the drama, I enjoyed the opening scenes, Kim Min Jong as Yoon and Min Sook. I think Min Sook was the only consistent character and I could get her reason for wanting the divorce. The rest was full of inconsistencies and the characters just behaved on the writer's whim. What's a great shame, because there was so much potential in this show! And so many lost chances of pursuing much more interesting story lines than Do Jin & Ji Soo push and pull kids plays...

Though, in the end I could perhaps absolve Meahri - she was so under the spell of Yoon Oppa, that she wasn't able to do anything else in her life. Thus she pragmatically came back from her studies, got him and now she can continue with her life ^^
I can understand her... who was not under the spell of Yoon Oppa??? ^^

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Different people has different taste. I on the other hand love dojin-yi soo's story, except for the having son storyline, which was ridiculous. I don't give a darn about yoon-maeri's story...totally boring for me.

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Thank you for the recaps. You worked really hard to complete it. I agree it was loosely strung. But it still was fun-- a case of growing up is optional. We do need to loosen up sometimes. Life's too serious to be taken too seriously. same with tv dramas.

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I did enjoy reading this 2 last eps duet diatribe...it left me want for more even if both recappers' and my opinion differ somewhat.

Well, as the saying goes in spanish "nadie es monedita de oro para caerle bien a todos" rough translate as no one is a gold coin to befit all. From the moment I started to read about this show I understood it to be light and fluffy and a fun look into what it takes to reach the 4th floor, which I gather, save for me, not many commentors have done yet.

The writer did put forth many an issue that come across once you're 39 no longer and she had a good laugh at that, which was nice, because I also laughed and understood we all have the same issues regardless of creed, nationality or gender- not that I didn't get it before, but it was kind of nice that we all laugh at the same puns...

The one hiccup I got was the afamed Jang Dongun whom I didn't know before. (I think the only one I'd seen before was Yoon; if he's the one in Athena)

Extensive reading has brought to light that Mr Jang is like God's gift to k-entertainment, but he (and I blame him partly) didn't deliver what was promised and shortchanged Dojin whom I came to know and love. I guess fandom and interviews taken out of context helped mess up and fall short of doing Dojin justice.

Cha is also a mature married actor who's worked under the same writers's lore, and he was capable of delivering better... Jang wasn't even capable of taking his shirt off in that sequence they were at the sauna or gym's dressing room...let alone the bed scene at the end of the show. And the bottom line is he could've done it, after all, pre-interviews and things, they both, Jang and Kim delivered a very good scene in a bathroom...Thus my very own personal feeling that this actor messed up "my" Dojin. Not to say that the writer also got cold feet and her "sex and the city" was toned down to "Little Women"--I do guess after all the Jangs are too big fish to fry.

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Very good and interesting point you raised here. Although i watched this first because of Jang and kept watching it even if i found it wanting. Now, you put into words what has been at the back of my thoughts. too big fish to fry -- Exactamente.

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This is absolutely my complaint in a nutshell:
her “sex and the city” was toned down to “Little Women”

I agree that JDG lack of sizzle has to be his fault. Mysthi explained that it is very possible that JDG's jealous wife is to blame. That would mean his wife doesn't acting - poor thing shouldn't have married an actor.

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Should be "his wife doesn't understand what acting means"

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I know right? At first it sounds like a unbelievable possible explanation cause she is an actor herself. Anyways I don't know what's really up... But though I liked it, it was definitely nothing like the description says it would be. It was about rated pg.

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But that's what I meant. I really think the wife couldn't be that... idiotic? She knows the media. If she was going to make a ruckus about her husband acting in a romantic comedy, what would she have done when he went and filmed that Dangerous liasons piece? I just think the media and the "feared netizens" took everything to mammoth proportions.

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very good point about JDG. I wasn't familiar with him before and fell in love instantly ... but ... it didn't feel as if he was giving his everything. In fact, it all felt rather 'uncommitical'. He seemed to have a good time when with his buddies, though - that's probably why the intros are the best bits in the whole drama.

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The End.finally
Thanks

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Wow. The recap although brilliant just cements what I thought about ep 20. The utter relief I feel that I didn't watch it from ep 1.
Thank you for your hard work. Now I can enjoy May Queen in peace.

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Thank you for finishing off this scratch my-head fest.
I mostly dragged the FF button through this ep, so now I know that I didn't miss anything.

I did watch this:
Bleh. And then they make out. The less said about this whole exchange, the better, I figure.
Is it that JDG can't on-screen kiss to save his life, or is it KHN who can't on-screen kiss to save her life? They had so many chances to prove their sexy-star reputations and failed. OK, it wasn't Jandi/Junpyo bad, but it was pretty bad - I mean "OMG I want to look away." It looks like both of them are fighting the urge to grimace.

Thank you for saying YS is the most confusing character ever.

JB - teach me how to not watch something written by this writer. I need to learn to resist the lure of the big names, and the possibility of some cute. I need to remember the frustration I feel right now is the cost of enjoying those moments!

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I loved it. I liked it better after rewatching it which is just a reflection of my current tastes. There are so many flaws here yet I lowered my expectations and that seemed to do the trick for me. I enjoyed the otp a lot and couldn't care less about yoonie and maeahri. But I still loved kmj.

I was really glad to see jdg on the small screen again and also I loved seeing his character getting ripped on. I do somewhat agree that do Jin the character as played out in the series didn't seem to fully fit the original description. But I suppose public tv and weekend drama etc etc etc probably had a hand there among other things.

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I love Yoon

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Well the crux of all Kim Eunsook dramas I've seen seems to be:

Smarmy, Royal Asshole of a male lead and Meek, Inconsistent, Poison-to-Feminism female lead.

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Not sure I would put City Hall in this group: Kim Sun Ah showed a fairly steady growth arc in her character and rocked it as mayor - she also managed to instill some conscience in her (quite typical) lead. She was many things, not all of them marvelous, but meek is not one of them.

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no, Kim Sun Ah's character is definitely the opposite of meek and rather 'feministic', all considered ... however, smarmy, royal asshole kinda applies to Cha Seung-Won, at least throughout most of City Hall.

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I guess I should say 'with respect to romance' because most of Writer Kim's female leads are very successful in their own respective field. There was a doctor, a stuntwoman, a highschool teacher, and of course a mayor. However, when faced with the Romeo, their knees give out and they're reduced to a puddle of hot mess. Writer Kim continues to manufacture these convenient female lead whom she could mold into whatever the situation calls for. I'd say Shin Mirae is no different, tho certainly not the worst of Writer Kim's character. She's a loud one-woman protester, but then she tolerates this man literally two timing her for most of the drama?

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Thank you to javabeans and girlfriday for finishing recapping this series! Your funny witty comments make the epsiodes more fun than they were... I started this show, then dropped it... and picked it up again and was strangely hooked. I really love the F44s and found their friendship really awesome... But the females in the drama were a little wishywashy and other than Min Sook, whose character I really loved and felt deeply for, Me Ahri was annoying, Yi Soo was ...I can't put my finger on it... haha... Hong Sera was also an eye-roll.

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Thanks so much for summing this up, ladies. I have to agree with you completely; I didn't hate the show, I didn't love the show. It felt too much like the writer left strings hanging all over the place, which is sloppy and annoying. You saw the string, then saw it was being threaded into the needle...then the needle never punctured the material. Worse than that, the stitching was sewn, ripped out, restitched somewhere else that didn't make sense, then ripped out again.

While I enjoyed the premise, and enjoyed seeing the guys interact, Min Sook was the only character that made me smile every single time she was on screen. And I think that was more the actress than the writing.

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loved your new style of recaps! I hope some time in the future they'll reappear. The recap was zippy and fun (in a different way than normal) while still getting the recap done. It was refreshing. A job well done. Thanks guys!

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i forgot why i had been excited to watch this -_-
i literally forced myself to finish everything with the help of homeworks lol.. this is the first time i watched jang dong gun and still i don't know why he is so good.. sorry but unlike hyun bin and cha seung won's characters his is not that memorable.. (or maybe like him i have short term amnesia so i forgot that he is really good)

this drama is something you want to watch if you just need a past time like while doing homeworks lol

thanks for the recap much better than when i watched

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THis show was so random, i only like the interactions between the F44 and min-sook, the rest was blah! Thanks for giving us clousure :)

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I totally dropped this drama half way but I love the opening sequences at the beginning of each episode. I wish the drama would have started from when they were in high school to university to adulthood (all as themselves) with bromance as the central theme. There aren't dramas that realistically portray Korean men and it would've been interesting to get that perspective, similarly like how You Who Rolled in Unexpectantly is about the nuances / dynamics of being a daughter in law in Korean culture.

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Kim Minjong is seriously my ahjussi crush. I can only hope and wish that my current loves in SM (Yunho, Kris, Jonghyun, etc.) can age as well as he did. :)

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That is the problem with everyone they take drama's too seriously. I loved this drama because it hit core issues with the characters and explained it so you could understand. Some people didn't get it because they weren't trying to understand the drama. If you hate the drama so much why watch it, recap it, or talk about it at all. Everyone knows Kim Eunsook style love it or hate it. I just some expected too much when it's a comedy/romance not a melodrama or lie lesson drama. Many connected to the characters and what they went through because they went through a similar situation or know someone as embarrassing as Do-Jin or scarred like Yi-Soo.I loved A Gentleman's Dignity and am so glad I watched it.It will leave a mark for a long while.I wish people would have been as constructive on Dr. Jin which was absolutely horrible.

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Hear,hear

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I think the whole older crowd (except for the younger sister) was a plus for a change. It was nothing like BBF or Shut Up FBB so there is no comparing flower boy kdramas here, and that's refreshing. It was just a fun watch, nothing heavy duty (at all, which the writers could have maybe added something melodramatic), but a fun story. It is a 7 out of 10 for me, low but passing. Thanks!

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I agree with you owl. Nice to see something other than teeny bopper drama.

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I just enjoy watching JDG and KMJ, feelings established from their previous few dramas way back when. However fluffy, shallow, idiotic ad nauseum were the dialogues, the most endearing and valuable aspect of AGD was the friendship among the F44. Through thick and thin ie. the moral dilemmas of Jung Rok and his womanizing and of Do Jin's insufferable's arrogance in his treatment of women, through supporting Yoon in his seven year period of mourning, the men were always steadfastly there to support each other. And that kind of camaraderie/friendship speaks volumes. So if anything of value is to be gleaned from this drama, let their friendship stand as model.

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I think the best of the entire drama are the cold opens. Everything else that follows after each opening, I don't really care.

It's the bromance that makes people enjoy this drama. The ladies here, especially MeAhri, drives people nuts, at some point or another.

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Cut out of this drama by ep 6 but it's great to know that YS was irritating and inconsistent for other rational women.

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The best part of this episode was when they played Seung Gi's "Will you marry me " song. Love the song !!

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I actually like this series.... not because of the actors but how the characters and situations are funny... It may be because I prefer comedy over drama. I pretty much laughed a lot watching this drama. The blast from the past scenes are still my favorite. I like how looking back to your youth shows you the consequences of those choices... Although some of the dramas do lack some things I still pretty much find this drama as one of my favorites.

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Out of all the episodes, ep 20 was my favorite, mostly for all the cuteness, and the opening five minutes or so. I thought the proposal was cute, but that's it.

I really did enjoy this drama. I loved it for it's lightness and humor, though I could have done without Colin's mother showing up. But I think what really made this drama special for me, was the relationship between the members of the F44. That was so funny and great. Whenever they shared the screen together, I just got this big goofy grin on my face. I think I'm a Jang Dong-gun fan now. I'd like to see more of his dramas/movies.

All in all, a nice drama. Sure it could have been better, but after the first episode, I had no high expectations. Still good, though.

Thanks for the recap, JB and GF!

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Been waiting for you girls' recap! Always had to read your take after watching the episodes hehe

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Wow, so many dislike comments. For me, the show was fun & enjoyable. Even the secret son / noble idiocy plotline didn't bother me that much, because in eastern culture it IS a big deal to have a child out of wedlock. It won't be a kdrama without some angst, right. Plus, how hot is JDG? He's definitely made a fan out of me. I swear in some episodes I keep shouting to YS : "Oh come on, just JUMP HIS BONES ALREADY!" LOL. Okay, now I'm just fangirling. Gonna stop now. :)

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I loved the drama too and I didn't have an issue with any of the characters or the plot - I just took it as a weekly sitcom about four cute ajusshis and their lives and people (and romance) around them..

I do have a very different opinion about JDG than most people (and I am surprised that I haven't come across similar comments) - I thought JDG looked really haggard and was awkward physically. He might have got a sun burn or something towards the earlier episodes as his skin looked unnaturally bronzed ("red"). This is my first time watching JDG (might have caught him in some real old drama back in the 90's) and I did not get the fandom - and I wanted to!

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Yeah, he did looked tired and haggard but I don't know why I love how he carried most of his outfit and his sexy/hot aura throughout the show.

hhehhe... maybe I'm just biased because I really like him during "all about eve" days

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:) H E L P ! ! !

Could anyone please tell me the song that plays whenever Seo Yoo and Kim Do Jin are together (sometimes the scene changes the landscape in the background.) I can't seem to pinpoint the title and singer involved. It sounds soothing and pleasing to the ear and I want a copy of the song...
It is cute when they play it because a romantic moment is about to come up.

Please help :(

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I think its "Spring I love you Best" by Big Baby Driver

sure of the title but not sure if its really that song.

try this as well

"Everyday" by 박은우

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After reading this recap and most of the comments, I can't actually decide if I should love this show or not. What I can remember is that (after marathoning few episodes a night for a week), it helped relieved my stress from work and gets me laughing out loud in the middle of the night. Maybe if I would just ignore wanting for more depth in the storyline and just remember those funny scenes.

I love Do Jin's and Yoon's character here. Do Jin is smirking hot and I love how he does things on his own way. Many might not understand why he let Betty crashed to another car and why he wanted to dump SYS (for her reputation's sake) but I think (and I don't want to dig deeper on this matter) its just because he loves her so much. He's like intelligent and good at his profession on the outside but when it comes to love, he's so uncertain and sometimes illogical about it.

Yoon, on the other hand, is just the nice guy type of character for me ~~trying to keep himself from loving his best buddy's younger sister. Kim Min Joong did a great job portraying this character. Actually, among all the 4 love story, Yoon and Meahri's love story is the most interesting. I have to commend Meahri for her great acting here, given the fact that it is her first time in small screen. Their scenes has the most impact for me, especially the scene on the highway ~~ aww that concerned, and at the same time, restrained look on yoon's face--->epic!

**

I love JB's and GF's alternative proposal scenario (I think, they can become really good writers)... I really want to love the proposal scene though-- but I just can't.

ahmm.. I think, its not the kind of drama that I would love with all my heart but just a feel good drama I would want to watch when I'm depress.

I think, what will stick on me for a long time about this drama is its OST! I love most of the song ~~ especially the acoustic version of that wedding song.

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With regards to all the negative comments, I don't understand, if you don't like a drama, why watch it? And regarding YS, if your mother left you to marry a rich man and neglected you, how would you feel? Naturally, I would think such person will be damaged in certain ways, e.g. feel insecure or have some inconsistencies in their character. So I think she has done pretty well to become what she is in the show: a teacher, trying her best to inculcate positive values in her students and live her life as best as she can despite a sad childhood.

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Hi, do you know the exact location of the proposal scene? where planning to visit seoul this April, hope you can help us to locate the place... Thanks :)

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such a waste of my time ... very disappointed with all that talents and such a horrible script... they try toooooo hard to be cute and unique to the point of nausea with the main couple who have absolutely no chemistry .... the 3 supporting couples are actually saving the show...

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