182

Flower Boy Next Door: Episode 6

The show continues to drop in stirring beats when you don’t expect it, proving that it’s got a solid plan for how its emotional throughlines play in with our comedic plot developments. That is not always (or often) the case, with dramas often letting those two threads unfold independently of each other. I love having that faith in a show to know where it’s heading, and to get there in a well-paced, well-calibrated way—especially since that’s so rare. Comedy that reveals character depth and stirs pathos is something to relish. And I do.

SONG OF THE DAY

J Rabbit – “Talkin ’bout love” from the drama soundtrack. [ 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 6: “The keywords for meetings are ‘fateful’ and ‘ill-fated'”

Enrique scampers back to his hyung’s place cheerfully, but Tae-joon waits with a stern paternal glower, all, Where were you all night? Seo-young shoves Enrique’s suitcase at him, scolding him for his irresponsibility and saying that if he’s just going to spend nights out without calling, he can do it elsewhere. Aw, I like them as scolding parents to Enrique’s 5-year-old hyperactivity.

Then Seo-young furtively mouths a few words at Enrique, hinting that what he really needs to do right now is say sorry. Enrique immediately starts apologizing elaborately, but that backfires since Tae-joon’s no dummy. He asks, “Is it fun for both of you to make me into the fool?”

Enrique leaves with his suitcase, texting Seo-young to say that it’ll just take a while to smooth things over with hyung, and not to worry. He pauses in the street to glare up at Dok-mi’s apartment window, vowing to drag her out of her hideout: “I’ll be your elephant trainer.”

On the fourth floor, a different confrontation is taking place as Do-hwi registers Dok-mi arriving with Jin-rak. Who spent all night out. Which means… they spent it together?

Dong-hoon pops out and arrives at the same conclusion, eyes wide and finger pointy. Do-hwi has to get a mental grip on her jealousy and acts like she’s just here to see her friend. Dok-mi finds her pathway blocked and pulls a feint to get past bulldozer Do-hwi. At the end of her patience, she asks Do-hwi, “Can you get lost?”

Faces drop all around. Dok-mi adds, “That’s the last thing you said to me.”

Another flashback sheds more light on their past:

As we’ve seen, Dok-mi and Do-hwi were initially close friends. The mean girls of their class start to pick on Do-hwi, mocking their years-long friendship. They tell Dok-mi to go be a loner by herself and reduce Do-hwi to tears.

Dok-mi gets some encouraging words from her literature teacher—the one Do-hwi has a crush on—who encourages her to enter a nationwide writing contest and lends her a book he likes. Do-hwi sees their friendly exchange, and the next thing we know she’s defected to the dark side, giggling with the mean girls and leaving Dok-mi high and dry.

But that’s not even the half of it, because Do-hwi’s vindictiveness isn’t satisfied till she’s ruined lives all around, and she accuses the teacher of having an inappropriate relationship with his student. Ah, so here’s the “lie that turned into truth” that Dok-mi mentioned to Enrique. Apparently he was helping Dok-mi write outside of school, but it doesn’t take much to turn this into something salacious.

The teacher is taken by surprise and the gossip breaks him down a bit; he asks his class to allow him to leave quietly and find a new position without being dogged by this gossip. He leaves with head hanging, keeping his distance from Dok-mi.

So now we have context for the flashes of bullying we saw earlier, as the girls crowd Dok-mi and demand to know what she did to the teacher, how she seduced him first, and all the ugly details. Not long after she leaves school for good, and Do-hwi just smirks from the crowd.

With that memory fresh on her mind, Dok-mi turns the lock on her door and says, “Let’s end it now. Let’s not thwart each other’s fates anymore.”

Wow, so this puts a different spin on things entirely. I’d actually really enjoyed Do-hwi’s character—I didn’t like her, but she was ditzy and amusing comic fodder. Now, though, it’s sort of difficult to contain the urge to shoot mind-bullets at her face. If only they made mind-bullets.

Currently Do-hwi sits in Jin-rak’s apartment as he asks about the tension in their past. I love how he has such a hard time remembering Do-hwi’s name, and even now when he’s corrected on it he just waves it aside, all, “Whatever. Now about Dok-mi…”

She pulls out her camera to show him old photos of them as schoolgirls, and Jin-rak smiles adorably at this proof that Dok-mi used to know how to smile. Do-hwi tries to sidle up into his side… and he cringes and sort of folds himself awkwardly out of her range. HA.

Enrique kills some time in a “4D” cineplex, where the salesman is eager to sign him on as a hot new creative director, but Enrique just wants to sit and watch movies. Heh.

He gets a text from a publisher pushing him to release his memoir with them, which has come with an attached roster of editors with autobiography-writing experience. Enrique dismisses the idea… until one name catches his eye. Go Dok-mi. “OooOOOOooohhh,” he breathes.

That publisher gives Dok-mi a call telling her to drop her current project and work on the new one she’s sending over.

Do-hwi enjoys being the center of Jin-rak’s attention as she tells him about Dok-mi’s youth—how her parents divorced when she was young and both remarried. Dok-mi lived with her grandmother, and for whatever reason, perhaps because both parents went on to have kids in their new marriages, she stopped seeing them. She takes credit for looking after Dok-mi all through their school years, and when asked why Dok-mi would be so cold to her now, she feigns ignorance and says, “I dunno.”

Dok-mi receives the book materials via courier (who slides it through a crack in the door), and the first thing she sees is a familiar photo—of that sand castle on the beach. Another photo shows Enrique himself.

As Dok-mi gets to work reading up on Enrique’s background, he speaks at a lecture sharing some of those same details to his rapt audience. He arrived in Spain as a child, unable to speak the language, and developed a game as his mode of communication. (Aw, he’s an elephant too. This just makes it perfect.)

He isn’t exactly modest, saying that he created his first game at the age of ten, at an age “where you couldn’t escape using the word genius,” but perhaps that’s an accurate descriptor. He describes seeing the castle Alcázar for the first time, appearing in real life like something out of a fantasy and marrying the idea that what you dream has the capacity to be real.

Dok-mi underlines meaningful passages and makes notes about his character, like how nothing was as interesting to him as work—so much so that he lost his adolescence to it.

This explains a lot, doesn’t it?

Enrique emerges from his lecture to see all the posters with his faced defaced and graffiti’d. He deduces that this is the work of people who’ve done this before, and asks why they hate him so much. His handlers rush to say they don’t, but that turns to sarcastic eye-rolls when Enrique muses, “I suppose I AM awesome enough to inspire jealousy.”

He asks them where Korean teens would go if they ran away from home. On to the jjimjilbang!

He’s adorably excited as he wheels his suitcase up to the admission desk, ready to experience another quintessential moment in the life of a Korean adolescent.

As is his wont, Enrique is soon befriending young boys at the sauna and playing his phone games with them, while Dok-mi gives the same game a try at home. He chugs down the traditional shik-hye sweet rice drinks and reads manhwa books and has a grand ole time.

Dok-mi finishes up her preliminary edit and sends it off. Enrique gets the word with a glint in his eye.

Dok-mi takes a call from the publisher about the manuscript. Her eyes narrow. “The writer didn’t like it?” Her publisher says that Enrique insists on meeting his editor in person, despite the terms of Dok-mi’s contract that explicitly state that she doesn’t take writer meetings, but Enrique is so important that they’re willing to bend to his whim. And it is his whim.

Jin-rak takes a look at his webtoon trailer online, his forehead furrowing when he discovers an additional graphic inserted into the frame. In dripping blood-like red letters, somebody has written petulantly, “Let your one-sided love drive you crazy!”

Dong-hoon already knows about it and complains that the preview is totally lousy with spoilers. Jin-rak vows to figure this out, while Dong-hoon turns to the drunk noona on his arm. He’s currently out on the town in his night guise, looking every bit the womanizer with the roving eye, though we’ve had enough hints to suggest some sort of reversal down the line. One of these days we’re going to learn that he’s just some spiffy designated driver or something, aren’t we?

Dok-mi hears that Enrique is on his way over to meet her right now, and starts panicking. It’s ten-thirty at night, and she is just not up for this. Enrique arrives at her door, suitcase in tow, and buzzes. “Omigod what now?” she worries. Ha, is she even starting to talk like him?

Dok-mi opens the door a crack, resigned to her fate. Enrique wears glasses and feigns seriousness, talking in uber-professional clipped tones and introducing himself as if for the first time. She asks for a moment, madly clears up her workspace, and then lets him in with great reluctance.

She rears in alarm at the sight of his suitcase, and Enrique drops the professional demeanor to play the pathetic urchin, telling her how his hyung threw him out and he’s been living at the jjimjilbang. Pout pout. Sniffle. She softens the teeniest bit, and that’s all the sign he needs to barge right in.

Jin-rak comes out of his apartment just in time to catch Enrique’s entrance into 402, and this has him madly pacing the hallway outside, trying to peer through windows.

Enrique buzzes around her apartment looking around (calling himself the Neil Armstrong of her apartment, aka its first visitor), gleaning way too much about Dok-mi for her comfort level. Like how she likes the idea of travel (from all the photos) but gets everything from television (from her TV watching schedule).

They turn to the matter of the manuscript, with Enrique finding fault with anything he can use as an excuse. Like how she’s too slow, given that he wrote the manuscript and she just has to edit it. And did she try all his games? And read all his articles, after translating them into Korean? She nods yes, taking all the wind out of his sails.

So he reaches for another excuse, saying that she must’ve just jumped to conclusions about his character and how she wrote about his first love/castle connection, which was supposed to be a secret between them, and now this is a violation of their contract. That backfires, though, since Dok-mi agrees to cancel that contract and send him on his way. Heh.

Enrique pouts, out of ideas, and asks why she’s so mean to him and only him. She’s nice to everyone else. Dok-mi has to think about that.

Jin-rak heads to the broadcast office to hash out the matter of the webtoon teaser with his director, who’s even loopier than usual from overwork. She hears his complaints with a pleasant smile on her face, but then blows up all at once, yelling that he’s encroaching on HER turf, and how would he like it if she told him how to write? And that his pathetic hero’s a loser for not being able to confess his feelings?

Jin-rak blows up in turn, roaring that there’s a specific progression to plot development (intro, escalation, climax, resolution) and she ruined it all with her clumsy trailer. His fiery outburst actually wins her admiration, and she sits him down with a pat on the arm, asking if things are going that badly with his neighbor ladyfriend. Haha. “Go confess, right now!” she orders.

While Dok-mi works, Enrique flutters around her apartment like a hummingbird on crack, irritating her with his nonstop movement. She shoves some papers at him and instructs him to read the manuscript at least.

Jin-rak gets home and immediately resumes monitoring Dok-mi’s apartment. When Enrique yells something from inside, Jin-rak leaps up trying to simultaneously remain quiet while also barging in. Ha. Two things that don’t exactly work together, as you can imagine.

Then he strings up two paper cups and tries to listen through the walls. By the time Dong-hoon gets home, he finds Jin-rak slumped on the ground, asleep with his ear still pressed to the wall.

Jin-rak smiles like a dolt in his sleep, dreaming of the moment in the elevator when Dok-mi told him she enjoys his milk-carton notes. Aw.

Enrique falls asleep watching TV. Noticing him shiver, Dok-mi drapes a blanket over him, which is the same blanket he then drapes over her later that night when she falls asleep at her desk.

He notices the toy binoculars and takes a look through them, marveling at how well he can see Tae-joon through the window.

He notices a piece of lint in her hair and reaches to pluck it out, then decides to try blowing it away instead. He inches closer… closer… closer… until Dok-mi stirs awake and finds him hovering over her with his lips pursed. Yeah, that doesn’t look suspicious.

She screams, and Jin-rak bolts awake. He fumbles for his paper-cup earphones like they’re any good, and then—oh, Jin-rak—actually screams back into a cup, “What the hell are you doing?!”

Enrique grabs the lint and brandishes it as his proof, launching into a hurried explanation of how he was only trying to remove it, but thought that she might freak out if she woke up and he was touching her, especially since their trip to the beach where she might have misinterpreted his actions as, you know, slightly perverted or whatever. Ha. He really needs to work on his explaining skills. On the other hand, they do make sense and Dok-mi calms, seemingly accepting that.

Jin-rak enlists Dong-hoon’s aid in evicting Enrique from Dok-mi’s apartment, his face crumpling to hear that it’s really too late for him to do anything, since that ship has sailed. Dong-hoon points out, “They’ve already… you know… all night… long…”

Jin-rak buries his head in misery, and Dong-hoon finishes, “I’m sure they were debating world peace and all that.” I think it’s even sadder for the way Jin-rak looks up at that with the teeniest shred of hope.

Living at Dok-mi’s, however temporarily, means that Enrique gets the lowdown on all her rules, which are seriously cramping his style. Only cook what you eat, don’t keep opening the fridge, only do one thing at a time.

Later that night, Dok-mi turns to her work in progress, “That Woman.” She writes:

That woman believes that fate is when the thread of her heart connects quietly with another’s. She thinks that that invisible string is what allows people to feel and understand each other, even with the smallest vibration. That woman feels uneasy when one heart suddenly gets mixed together with lots of different ones. So, Fate, please—don’t pull my heart so hard…

Do-hwi makes good on her offer to use Dong-hoon and Ryu (or, as they call him, Wata-san) to model for her shopping mall. Dong-hoon gets all into it, like he’s been preparing for the gig by watching too many reruns of Top Model.

Do-hwi praises their modeling, then gets right to the point: “Does Jin-rak like Dok-mi?” He whispers the question back at her—does she like Jin-rak? She makes a big denial, then quickly cops to it, admitting she fell at first sight.

Dong-hoon’s a little put out that she fell for Jin-rak instead of him, but he advises that this is her chance, saying that she should start with her friend.

The apartment security guard has good news to announce over the PA today, stating that their legal battle is at an end and that they will be receiving their compensation fees after all. There’ll be a meeting later to handle the matter.

The boys of 401 cheer and celebrate, with Dong-hoon exclaiming, “I wonder how much we’ll get!” and Jin-rak rejoicing, “Then she’ll have to come out of her apartment!” Aw.

Dok-mi thinks otherwise, though, telling the security guard that she can’t accept her share of the compensation, since she never participated in any of the protests. He tells her to come to the meeting regardless, and also informs her that she has a package for pick-up. Then he turns around and wonders, “Where’d they go? Did they already head up?”

Immediately Dok-mi’s door buzzes. The peephole only shows the deliverer carrying a stack of boxes, and with reluctance Dok-mi cracks open the door. A platform heel shoves its way in.

It’s Do-hwi, looking pathetic and pouting, “Let’s not be like this. Let’s get along, okay?” A flashback informs us that Dong-hoon had set her on this path, telling her that Dok-mi has started living with a guy—it’s Game Over, Jin-rak.

So now Do-hwi tries to push her way in to “talk,” but Dok-mi pushes her out to have the talk in the hallway, just wanting to get rid of her. Do-hwi talks extra-loud in the direction of Jin-rak’s door, piling on the hurt act like she’s really doing this for their friendship.

Enrique has to stop himself from barging outside to step in, while inside Apartment 401 Dong-hoon makes sure to draw Jin-rak’s attention to the conversation.

Dok-mi balls up her fist and tells her to leave, but when Do-hwi starts to “sob” loudly, and as usual everybody ends up in the hallway. The boys of 401 step outside and so does Enrique, who offers to leave so the ladies can talk inside.

But Dok-mi just says, “Don’t leave. Stay.”

Dong-hoon makes a big show of defending Do-hwi’s side, but Jin-rak tells him not to interfere.

Back to simpering, Do-hwi says it was her fault for dropping by unannounced, since she thought Dok-mi lived alone. “You two look good together,” she says pointedly. She leaves her boxes for Dok-mi (clothes from her shopping mall) and tells her to drop by her office nearby.

Enrique’s flustered by the couple comments and says they’re not a couple, that they’re just working together briefly, and accepts the boxes on Dok-mi’s behalf. Jin-rak surprises them by speaking up: “Don’t you think she has a reason for refusing them? If you’re just hanging around temporarily, why don’t you step out of it?”

Enrique says that the friend is doing a nice thing, and besides, Dok-mi can’t avoid or hide forever.

Jin-rak steps forward, looking thunderous: “Let’s have a chat.”

 
COMMENTS

Woo, way to step it up, Jin-rak! This episode went a long way to stirring my sympathy for him, because although I love him as a character I was more on the other team. It’s one thing to feel lovelorn and do nothing about it, and that’s heart-tugging in its own way, but it’s a lot more admirable to step it up and try to be more proactive. The fact that he’s so terrible at it just endears me to him more, because he’s still trying.

And one thing that I do have to respect about him is that he’s always, always looking at Dok-mi first. At the outset it was really to his own detriment, going so extreme as to make himself invisible so that he wouldn’t impose the burden of his presence in her life. The way she shrank back from the world and removed herself entirely from it. These two are sad figures, but you could hardly put ’em together for all the avoiding they’d do.

Imposing yourself is the very trait that gets Enrique where he is, and I think that’s a double-edged sword. It’s the thing that breaks down Dok-mi’s walls, and I’d argue that she actually needs it. But you have to be careful not to bulldoze over her—the way Do-hwi does—and make that imposition something more pernicious. I don’t think Enrique’s crossed that line, especially since he’s been so insightful that he does seem to know where things stand. It’s just that it’s nice to have Jin-rak feel SO MUCH on Dok-mi’s behalf, and in a genuinely empathic way—not just to get something out of it.

I also love the little reveals we get of Enrique’s character, who is so loud and talkative and expressive that it’s easy to assume that we know him. That’s his shield, and Dok-mi’s reading into his autobiography shows us how much more there is to him as a person. I appreciate the way she writes (in her entry this episode) of fate and connection as a thread of the heart, linking a person to another in spirit. It’s not something you see or feel, but she reads those threads in the text of his life, gleaning understanding out of them.

It’s a sweet realization to see Enrique’s childlike personality as a way of experiencing the childhood he gave up to his genius—not to say that it’s a forced persona. More of a reclamation of that emotionally pure spirit. It’s another thread linking him and Dok-mi—two souls in a state of arrested development.

RELATED POSTS

Tags: , , , ,

182

Required fields are marked *

Thank you! :D

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

thanks :)

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

THANK YOU! I was so desperate today I watched it without subs. Figured out most of it but now I can fill in the holes.

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

thank you so much!

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

I actually thought the same about Jin Rak, how this is probably the first time where I loved that he saw that there was a reason why Dok Mi would refuse the box. He thought of her first while Enrique just took the box like it's her fault that she is avoiding the conversation. But then again, she needs to move on by dealing with the past, so Enrique is totally wrong...

0
3
reply

Required fields are marked *

I hope she punches that chick in the face!

0
1
reply

Required fields are marked *

yeah. i hope that will happen too. but if dok mi retorts in an awesome way to do hwi, that'd be so much better, in my opinion....

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

It's great that Jin Rak is finally getting the hint that there is an important reason for her not to accept the so called gifts as Do Hwi claims them to be.

I do not see Enrique accepting the gifts and also what he said to be wrong. Either way it goes it could be a double edged sword and sometimes you have to also look at the pros instead of the cons. I understand what Enrique was speaking about and he is right that she can't live with hiding and observing forever; she needs to face it and overcome it. It does not necessarily mean that she is going to wear whatever that was in the box, but she could throw them away or give them to someone else just to get Do Hwi away from her and etc....

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Thanks jb!

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Thank you for the recap!

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

I'm just so glad this show has lived up to the expectations! I was so excited when I heard about the cast and setup, but that does not always do it for the show. But I feel like we are far enough in that its clear that all the hype (that I built up personally) was well worth it.

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Enrique. I just want one for myself. Is that too much to ask for?

0
4
reply

Required fields are marked *

Every girl should have an Enrique. It should be mandatory.

*Le sigh*

0
3
reply

Required fields are marked *

Not me!! He will drive me insane! I want a Jin Rak please!! Come here you with your sexy tousled hair hehehe...

0
2
reply

Required fields are marked *

add me too.... i want jin rak...ever since the start i have been squealing why JIN RAK is not the main lead...

he is DROP DEAD HAAAAAAAAAAAAAWT....... i wanna mf hubbe like him *dreams*

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Agreed, Enrique gets on my nerves. I love Jin Rak!

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Thanks so much for the recaps!!

I am seriously loving this drama. The characters, the plot, everything is so refreshing. They may not be doing grandiously new things, but you can tell that they DO know what they are doing. :D

As a side note, who else is loving the background music? That has been a thought in the back of my mind pretty much every episode.

And Yoon Shi Yoon, pleaaaase stop making me love you so much!

0
2
reply

Required fields are marked *

ME! omg i'm trying to find the background music but failing miserably TT__TT anybody have any idea?

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

I love the background music too. It enhances the moments perfectly.

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Waaah daaebak!!

Loving this show so much .. not Dok-mi though :s She still currently seems like a boring character. Maybe it'll be better and more interesting when she breaks out of her shell.

Do-hwi's actress always portrays antagonistic female characters the best. I've always hated her character so so much, but I can't help but admire how brilliantly Park Soo Jin portarys her.
Reminds me of how she was so hateful in My Girlfriend is a Gumiho.

And, LOVE THE MALE LEADS!

0
3
reply

Required fields are marked *

she is the deepest character of the show js

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

The characters we are attracted to say a lot about our own personalities. I LOVE LOVE LOVE Dok-Mi. I am like Jin-Rak, thinking about her all the time, worrying about her, hoping she is OK and safe and not being bullied and not running out of TP and milk but unable to work up the courage to go to the grocery store.

Except for Do-Hwi, I like everyone in this drama.

I am really pleased with Jin-Rak's roommate/work partner. I think his presence in JR's life has kept JR from sinking completely into introverted depression.

Lesson learned: we all need people to interact with, humans are suppose to be social creatures.

0
1
reply

Required fields are marked *

I feel that Dokmi's character is the centre towards which everyone else gravitates. The essence of the plot without which the drama would have no meaning. At least for me it is the one in relation to which I look at all the others in the drama. Without being so invested in her I don't think I would have been able to enjoy it this much.

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

U R AWESOME!

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Happy is me! I was having some serious withdrawal symptoms but it appears a brand new drama crack has arrived. tvN seems to be a reliable place for good crac...er, drama.

0
1
reply

Required fields are marked *

"tvN seems to be a reliable place for good crac…er, drama."

you make me laugh :-)

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

I stopped watching dramas for a little bit but this one caught my eye and I'm so glad I started watching it! It's very cute. And I love the quirks of all the characters on the show.

But man, there are no words to describe how much I hate Dok-Hwi. I hope she gets an AWESOME comeuppance.

0
2
reply

Required fields are marked *

*Do-Hwi

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

I agree. Something REALLY bad. (if we can't have justice in real life, at least have one in a drama, right?)

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

So. Good! I'm so happy Jin-rak is stepping it up more and more. He really is one of may favorite characters and, though I love Enrique, I'm sorta leaning towards Jin-rak at this stage.

Do-hwi continues to annoy the hell out of me. Everything about her just irritates me. My feelings are heightened because now we know she and Dok-mi used to be friends and it was just jealousy over a teacher's attention that drove them apart. And the jealousy was all Do-hwi's. I cannot find one redeeming quality in her, so far, and she just irritates the crap out of me.

Thanks for the recap, Javabeans!

0
1
reply

Required fields are marked *

I agree with you Do-hwi was some friend! I hope Dok-mi never rebuilds their friendship.

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

eeeee! thank you! now, the waiting commences for next week.

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Yay! What a good read of what appears to be a great episode. I don't know what I look forward to more, watching the episodes or reading these summaries. I'm loving this drama so far. Thanks for the recap!

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

thank you javabeans! wow this episode was really fun. :)
Enrique is such a curios puppy .

0
1
reply

Required fields are marked *

blah ! i meant curious . forgive my bad spelling ^^

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

thank you for the recap! Jin Rak really adorable in this eps.. i love enrique but i think Jin Rak understand Dok Mi well.. as for Do-hwi.. i urge to slap her everytime she appear on my screen! she is make blood high.. hahhahahha...

0
8
reply

Required fields are marked *

I disagree. I think Jin-rak understands the Dok-mi that he created in his manhwa. The one that was a product of 3 years stalking which is the timid Dok-mi out-side that room. How could he understand her more when he hasn't even had a real conversation with her? He maybe super sensitive to her reactions but he has no idea about her motivations.

Inside that room and with Enrique, she is totally herself which is why she is mean/rude only to him and to some degree to Do-hwi. They are the only two people who had been up close and personal with her. Enrique take liberties with Dok-mi to new heights but I sense that he knows how much he can push with Dok-mi (he's persistent but he's almost always went into the direction that Dok-mi was leaning towards but was too afraid to take).

0
6
reply

Required fields are marked *

It's cute though the way the guys --Enrique and Jin Rak-- are artists focused on her. Both dreaming of the idealized woman of their art dreams whom they wish to save. Enrique and his princess and dragon. Jin Rak and his Rapunzel.

They both have some ideal of her that is somewhat true, maybe. And they both have savior complexes. Interesting that Dok-mi in her art doesn't fantasize about men or even about being saved by a man. It does make me wonder more about Jin-Rak's encounter with loneliness since Dok Mi and Enrique both understand/had bouts with solitariness.

Been a while since I saw a love triangle with three artists.

Also, the guys mirror each other in another aspect. Both have folks vandalizing their artwork.

Love this show.

0
4
reply

Required fields are marked *

I wish this site had a way to just like a post without having to respond. By which I mean: I really like what you wrote. Now I have to go off and think some more about Dok Mi and how what she writes relates to her romance.

0
2
reply

Required fields are marked *

:big grin: Thanks, Ladida!

I'm liking all the meta stories our artistes are creating. I'm hoping we actually see the webtoon. And how all the artists "influence" each other.

0

Totally my sentiments. :) .......how much more enjoyable because of it. So much food for the brain. I also marvel at the way everyone is watching. It's like revisiting the characters and their relationships ......resulting in high anticipation for the next episode.

0

I like what you are saying too - that area, those apartment units, live many singletons, old & not so old, the guard, the old maid, Jin Rak & sidekick, Dok Mi, the doctor & all those newly moved-in, the confused Japanese, the genius with a hyperactivity of 5 y.o. Simple yet ingenius story about people ....

I love, love this show ....

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

I agree.

I think it's also important to remember that Enrique has decided to be Dok-Mi's "Elephant trainer" and bring her out into the world.

In this episode, he hears at least part of her conversation with Do-Hwi and whatever it is between them, it obviously does need to come to rest at some point for her to move on with her life. Also, I think Enrique was trying to make them have a talk together b/c, think about it, Do-Hwi is the first person that is from Dok-Mi's past. Enrique has definitely shown that is intuitive enough to at least feel something is up. And them talking together is another way for him to find out more about Dok-Mi.

And it's nice to see Jin-Rak as the hero of the moment defending her against Do-Hwi but Jin-Rak, in a lot of ways, is like an overprotective parent. He's so busy trying to protect her and shield her that he doesn't even give HIMSELF a standing chance to getting with her/dating her.

Instead, he keeps her bubble nice and protected against the world, INCLUDING himself. Him blindly protecting her from Do-Hwi in this instance is the same thing.

I doubt he has that much insight on how bad Do-Hwi is for Dok-Mi (as seen from previous encounters, he seemed more to ignore her or jumped at the chance to talk to her b/c he still believed that her and Dok-Mi were still friends).

I do wish, sometimes, that Dok-Mi would just yell at Do-Hwi. Just GO FOR IT!

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

sure.. i want jin rak ....

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

to enrique's defense, he still don't know the reason what made her become a loner..
and for him to accept do hwi's gift that becos he doesnt' really realize what do hwi done to dokmi in the past.

thing is ... for jin rok to telling enrique that he shouldn't just accept the gift when dokmi doesnt want to...
i really don't think jin rok did that to defend dok mi or speak her mind.. or respect her decision..
but i think jr did it becos he felt insecure and bothered that enrique got so close with dokmi and accept the gift/made decision for dokmi....

side note, the elephant stuff is really touch my heart...
imagine how hard it would be for kid to start out in a new country that u cant speak the language and have to make new friend... high school is tough...

0
8
reply

Required fields are marked *

The point is that Dok Mi has allowed Enrique into her home despite having wanted him out of her life in the past. He's pushed his way in and the very least he owes her is that he respect her decisions about how she wants to handle letting *other* people into her life. He doesn't know what's best for her and he shouldn't presume to without adequate information. He should respect her not wanting to take the gifts or have contact with her old tormenter.

It's a kind of betrayal for him to wheedle his way into her life and then use the space he's made there to let other people who might be dangerous or even just unpleasant.

:-/

0
3
reply

Required fields are marked *

IMO the only reason Enrique had that attitude (offering to leave so that DH and DM can talk inside) was so that PSH's character could say:"Don’t leave. Stay.” which signalls the viewers the shift in Dok Mi. I think that the writer needed/wanted Dok Mi to say: Don’t leave. Stay.” and that was the way he/she found to contextualize them.

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

I really think there's a point beyond which Enrique won't go, though. I hate intrusive people but in this case, he knows she's in pain from her self-exile.

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

While i agree with this to an extent i think that you're overstating what enrique did. He isn't trying to force DM to have further contact with DW (at least not yet), nor imo does him accepting the gift on DM's behalf really open up a door for DW to use to get closer to DM - and DW made it clear that she plans on seeing DM again anyway. Of course, he still doesn't have the right to accept a gift on DM's behalf when she explicitly rejected it. I can forgive him though because it was understandable and he obviously had good intentions. He has no way of knowing that DW bullied her in the past and that her gift had no sincerity behind it - there wouldn't really be many reasons for DW to insincerely give DM a gift...it just so happens that she's doing to get close to JR but that's hardly predictable. To him it might just seem like DM was being harsh to DW for reasons similar to why she spoke harshly to him - she has created a barrier between herself and the rest of the world and is uncomfortable with people knowing and interacting with her. It could also be that he partly accepted the gift to resolve the whole awkward situation. Also, as much as it isn't enrique's place to accept the gift, to me JR also has no right to call him out for it as if it's his business.

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

I'm with you in this. I believe Enrique feels the tension or conflict within Dokmi with regards to Do hwi (he's particularly sensitive to her nuances and their uncanny linear mental talk) that's why he hesitated at opening the door earlier. Plus he feels that it is better for Dok-mi to start facing head on her monsters.

Jin-rak feels for Dok-mi so much but he see's her so much as a pure damsel that he tends to shield her from things that she really needs to engage in (conflict, and hopefully resolution)

I also think that Jin-rak is possessive enough of Dok-mi that Enrique's accepting of the box in her behalf is too symbolic of them being a pair that he couldn't stand it.

He's webtoon will sell more if he drew real life verbatim but then again it would always be from his point of view. how is he suppose to relate with the rival.

The elephant talk and trainer is a theme that I like. Enrique was that elephant that tried to communicate to the trainer, he feels accomplished enough to graduate from elephant to trainer to help his own kind (Dok-mi). Only, the truth is he is still an elephant and he doesn't realize that he might just be trying out talking elephant to a future girlfriend.

Arrested development is a concept I feel I understand since I'm living it. hahaha! You try so hard to make up for lost stages that you consciously ignore the obvious thinking that the next stage can wait only to find yourself even more left behind. In a way, it's a form of self gratification.

Anyways back to the show. Enrique all the way! Dok-mi better step it up or her character will become just a square to me.

0
3
reply

Required fields are marked *

but Dokmi has been changing a lot you can't expect a person to completely changed over night
the person that has changed is Enrique, he still stuck in his childhood and hasn't grow up yet
At lease Dokmi honest with her feeling when I don't think it's the case for him

0
2
reply

Required fields are marked *

Enrique may not be true to his feelings but he is out there and exposed and making-up for his lost adolescence. He tried his feelings with "the bestfriend" but that didn't work out. He still needs to get that "happy" mask off sometime in the future but his current childlike ways and perceptiveness is the very thing that's driving a change in both Dok-mi and Jin-rak.

Dok-mi is the one needing immediate change since time basically stopped for her in that room for 3 yrs. She needs to start living again and she wants to deep deep down in her subconscious. That is what Enrique recognized and what Jin-rak missed in his stalking. I know she's changing a little but I hope in the next episode she'll improve by leaps and bounds 'cuz we can only have so many episodes in dramaland.

Jin-rak is adorable and grumpy but he often misses the point. I'm happy that he's changing though and actively fighting for Dok-mi's attention. Yet, what would have happened if Enrique hadn't shown up to rock his world?

0
1
reply

Required fields are marked *

Another thing, Jin-rak likes to skirt around a topic and thus fails to hit the mark when he is trying to put a message through. He will accomplish so much more with the direct approach at least once. I'd gather his upcoming talk with Enrique would be much of the same roundabout talk unless Enrique "quick as he is in the uptake" will assume his self appointed cupid role right then.

0

Thanks for the recap!

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

I will send Park Shi-hoo spell over to Jin-rak. Go, go, go Jin-rak!

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

I think I love and invest to this show a bit too much for my own good
I care for Dokmi and want the best things for her and can't help but can't stand that blue feather lady now...
Can someone ship her out of Dokmi's sight?
Thank you

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

i would have told what's her face to take her crap with her. im soo on jin rak's side.

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

yay!!! Jin-rak!!!!!!!!!! thank you!!! i love you...atta boy that's how it's done! and Enrique what are you doing? we all know you like her...so protect her properly! if she doesn't want something UNDERSTAND! be more like Jin-rak! OK who else agrees with me that Do-hwi needs to go away?...like maybe to a far far far marooned island? isn't it stupid to turn on your friend over a guy? i mean nothing even happened between Dok-mi and him...that lady should get her facts straight before holding unnecessary life grudges.

0
3
reply

Required fields are marked *

"so protect her properly! if she doesn’t want something UNDERSTAND!"

IMO, he doesn't have to actively protect her as long as he respects her ability to protect herself and decide who gets to be in her life.

0
2
reply

Required fields are marked *

"...as long as he respects her ability to protect herself and decide who gets to be in her life."

I think that's the whole point. He's not respecting the fact that she doesn't want Do-Hwi in her life. He can't push someone on her. I think it's completely understandable and acceptable that she doesn't want to bring a bully back into her life. People cut ties with negative people in their lives all the time and it's a healthy thing to do.

It was a huge step for Dok-Mi to actually tell her to leave. She was able to speak to her each time she came to her door instead of crying and fainting. She hasn't gotten over it, no, but you can't throw her over a cliff just to get a response. (Or maybe you can :P)

Dok-Mi just seems like someone who if pushed too far, will break. But at the same time, she seems like she's tough as nails... But as a friend and guest in her home, I feel he still butted in where he shouldn't have; especially when she was clearly stating exactly what she wanted. (And she doesn't usually do that. That, I do give a round of applause to Enrique for:D I do still LOVE him) Sorry this was so long, and if it didn't make sense...>_> I was totally responding to you and then went off on a tangent...

0
1
reply

Required fields are marked *

I agree with everything here. Enrique failed to respect her right to keep Do Hwi out of her life and protect herself that way. I really hope the show has him learn from this instead of not realize it was wrong.

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

there is no "wow!"-moment in it for me. I watched some but it leaves me indifferent

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Thanks for the recap

Love this show! However I can't help but feel that Jin-rak is a bit creepy. I know he is coming from a sincere place but can you imagine what could happen if he isn't?

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

So love Jin Rak this week. He's so grumpy and funny and thoughtful all at the same time. I don't usually lol while watching in my pc monitor but his makeshift paper cup telephone just cracked me up. I also love how he easily read Dok Mi's frustration about the gifts Do Hwi was forcing to give her. Maybe it's because he already suspected that the two girls are not on good terms, seeing that Dok Mi didn't acknowledge Do Hwi when they first met on their floor.

This show makes me feel so much that I felt frustrated at the end of episode 6. I kinda shared Dok Mi's frustration over Do Hwi and now I just have to deal with it til next week. For this, I'm glad the subs came out a day later coz that reduces my waiting time.

Thanks for the recaps Javabeans!

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

funny you should mention it, i own a factory of skillfully crafted mind bullets, and i'm taking orders. nay, i will share. UGH. what a friggin hater, that dohwi. the lies/accusations in that flashback is SERIOUS stuff. i appreciate that the writers have this show well thought out because i thought whatever it was that sent go dokmi into such a turtled state was going to be shallow, surfacey stuff, solvable withing a few episodes. glad it's a little more complicated then that. and woohoo, jinrak! ha. i just want everyone to become friends, okay. hee.

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

I totally agree with you as regards how much I'm more into Jin-rak now! He needed to man up and act on his feelings, and I'm so happy that he did! At first I was totally on the Dokmi-Enrique train, but if Jin-rak keeps this up, I just might have to switch trains! :)

I love this show so much! It's such a refreshing break from all the shows that are too eheavy to watch. This one is so light, but so fun to watch! I haven't been bored at all yet in the 6 episodes i've watched! :) this is slowly turning out to be my most favorite drama yet! Thank you, JB!

And now... The agonizing wait for next Monday's episode begins. *stares at the watch hoping time goes faster*

0
2
reply

Required fields are marked *

hahaha...i feel the same, if only we can skip all the days for monday and tuesday to come first so we can watch this drama again...haisssz! thank you java beans for the recap.

0
1
reply

Required fields are marked *

Haha wereally share the same sentiments! I don't remember the last time I was this excited for Monday to come :-P

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

We still don't know why Jin Rak changed his name. The only person who seems to know his alias is Do Hwi who is the most irritating, pushy, and deceitfully underhanded character. I hope she doesn't get Jin Rak who seems like a nice person except he's too passive to win over Dok Mi and is oblivious to Do Hwi's sneaky shenanigans.

Do Hwi is a fair weathered friend who threw Dok Mi to the wolves (mean girls) and ruined a teacher's career. The actress who plays Do Hwi is good. She reminds me of a snake who is trying to wheedle her way back into Dok Mi's life and entangle Jin Rak.

Poor Dok Mi. I hope she leaves her room and starts to really live in the world soon. She is making me depressed.

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

thanks for this recap!

whaaaa... Wata-san didnt even say atleast 1 line!! not even a word =(

anyway, lol at how people (including me) thought yesterday that Enrique is really about to kiss Dok mi...lol

0
1
reply

Required fields are marked *

Concept of Flower Boy Next Door: 5 guys.
Recipe: 45% main lead. 40% second male lead, 15% for all the others.
There is just so much you can do in term of screen time if you want to have a balanced drama with only 16 eps of 45 mins. That said, I hope than the DW conflict will be solved soon so she could leave our lives. Then we will have more times for the other boys. Thank you very much.

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

OMG!!!! I loved this episode. And all the other episodes. I can't wait for next Monday. I love Enrique! I just love him. He is such a sunny, happy character. I need someone like him so badly in my life. At least I get to have him make my day better for one hour, on screen. Thanx Enrique!

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Ooooh. It's J.Rabbit's song! This is such a lovely song. Try reading the recap while listening to this. It's so warm and fluffy. ^.^

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

is it getting hot or what?

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

thank you JB!!! i'm gonna love Jin Rak even more.....go Jin Rak! go Jin Rak go! everyman has their own way to protect the one he loves/he likes...so does Jin Rak.

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Thanks, can't wait to watch it.
This is my first time watching anything with Park Shin Hye in it and I must admit I really like her a lot.

I'm really liking this sitcom, and even my mom is loving it. She find Kdramas too long usually, so this one having shorter episodes that really get to the heart of the content (no long stares for 2 minutes) is great.

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Hi guys!! I've been a long-time lurker here (almost a year)
and this site has been wonderful and awesome. And I'm really addicted to FBND that I wish it's Monday again.Sigh.

I love both Enrique and Jin rak, but I am firm in my Dokmi/Enrique ship right now. But it doesn't mean I wont get hurt when the time will come that Jinrak will not get the girl, cause he is such a sweet and caring guy that you can't help but feel for him too. That, and well, Kim Ji hoon.hehe..

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

*sigh* to know that i have towait a week tp see the next episodes...

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

I'm still with Enrique-Dok Mi ship!!!! This episode just proves that Enrique is going to be Dok Mi's happy ending. He will be her future elephant boyfriend lolz!

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

thaks JBS,

Why did the writer make Enrique from the next block to come over and stay with dok mi, SIMPLY to speed up their love nest - OTP ?.

Why make jin rak's character a loser trying very very hard to get involve with dok mi's life and her current situation now. And he has to solve his own life problem too - tough character !.

Jin Rak has no malicious thoughts of dok mi with her shove-in male boarder except anxiety .

Enrique could have stayed with watasan but no - the writer make sure he must be with dok mi to start the love affair.

As for jin rak, he has to do the hard way by being a self appointed PI trying to dig bits and pieces of info from dok hwi and also dong hoon and also from dok mi's words phrasing to interprete and fit the puzzle by writing it in his webtoon.

Irony, although 402 and 403 are immediate neighbours.
but I still have hope for dok mi to love jin rak too .

0
2
reply

Required fields are marked *

lmao he doesn't know watasan... how can he live w him? lol
And the point is to make the get to know each other closely

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Hm... I don't think the writers made Enrique moving in with Dok Mi to "simply speed up their love nest". When characterisation is done well, the characters of a story come alive. The story is then driven forward by the decisions made by the characters that are influenced by their personalities.

As mentioned by "a fan", Enrique doesn't know Ryu so he can't move in with him. Of course, the writers could have made him move in with Jin Rak, but they already "explained" their choice with the scene in which Enrique was thrown out of his hyung's apartment. As he left the building, he had pointed at Dok Mi's window and declared that he would be her elephant trainer. So it made sense that he would choose to move in with Dok Mi.

Furthermore, from the past 5 episodes, we can see that Enrique is quite intrusive (?). He just does what he wants without asking others. E.g Becoming the "love cupid" between SY and his hyung, talking to Dok Mi though she clearly doesn't want to. So when I saw Enrique following Dok Mi into her house in the preview for Episode 6, my first reaction was "Well, THAT is something Enrique would do. Why am I not surprised...". It felt totally normal that he would pout his way into Dok Mi's house,lol.

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

I haven't seen this episode yet, so was going to skip the recap and just read the comments. Ack! I was sucked in. I read the whole dang thing. I was just thinking before this episode that although there's been progress, it's been slow (you only have 16 ep. to get this all wrapped up...and short episodes). After reading the recap, I'm glad to see a LOT of progress on the Dok-Mi situation. I wonder how much the "apartment across the street" situation will really factor into this since there's so much going on just on the 4th floor. Either way, can't wait to watch ep. 6 even though I know how it goes. Thanks for the recap!

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Thanks for the recap javabeans!! I LOOOOVE love looove everything about this drama!! I never wished for Monday to come so fast in my life.... hahahaha

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

I loooooooove Dok-mi. I have fairly severe anxiety problems myself, though mine are more biological than related to a specific event, and I think Shin-hye and the writing is doing a good job of portraying someone with them, including some mannerisms and the self-loathing that comes with knowing you're being paralyzed with it (the scene where she writes about the bird with the broken wing, and how she didn't long for more until now, etc).

Oh, and I also l love all the male characters, of course ;)

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Such a cute and well-written drama. Can't believe it makes me wish it were Monday sooner. Thanks for the recaps.

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Thanks! I really enjoyed reading this episode! i always read here first before watching it.... Can't wait to watch this episode! :)

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Great episode, thank you. Too bad the episodes are so short I really am enjoying the show.

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Generally, I don't mind my heroines to be a bit sullied but for some wonderfully-happy reason, I am sooooooooooooo glad Dok-Mi wasn't the baddie from the past. Thank heavens for that clear-it-all-up flashback. Am glad they didn't drag it out for so long.

Gotta say this drama is unpredictable in so many ways and I love that. And i love the way fate is used. Enrique gets the list of possible writer/editors...which is somehow fatalistic since Dok-mi's name is on it. But he could either choose to do what Dok Mi wanted or accept fate. I like the way he's working with what fate gives him. Funny too, about how cramping Dok-Mi's style is to poor Enrique. I hope they become a couple quickly enough to give us time to see how they balance each other's personality in couplehood.

I'm wondering why Enrique uses his Spanish first name since he arrived in Spain with --presumably-- a Korean first name. Why doesn't Tae yoon or Ms Perfect Unrequited call him by that name?

I love Dong-Hoon so much. Poor confused stressed-out understanding friend. I wonder if he'd be jealous if Jin Rak hands out too much with Enrique. I totally don't think Jin Rak will be able to get all his thoughts off his chest to Enrique--without Enrique's help, that is. Enrique will probably help him out.

Dol-hwi...ah i love that actress. I think she's the same one from I love Lee Tae Ri. And I love Watanabe. I'm hoping the screenwriters don't make Dol-hwi, Watanabe, and Dong Hoon too one-note. I know the story has to be told and one can't waste time on minor characters but it would be nice if we got some new shadings and texture to these characters. Watanabe can't just make it through the drama smiling innocently. And Dol-hwi must've had something like a soul in the beginning when she and Dok-mi were friends after all she did hang out with loner Dok-mi for a long while before peer pressure kicked in.

To tell the truth, I'm hoping Jin Rak doesn't actually tell Enrique about his love. I don't want Enrique to feel more bound to help Cupid than he already is.

Thanks for the recap.

0
1
reply

Required fields are marked *

Do Hwi is played by Park Soo Jin. Actress from I Love Lee Tae Ri is Park Ye Jin. Not the same actress.

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Yay! totally called the teacher angle with why they fell out. now we just need to see Jin-rak* be the son of a rich/powerful man. then all my predictions will come true!

*he has the sort of everything in life must be pure to make be good character that would reject his family's wealth in order to prove he can succeed without it.

dude. Monday, Tuesday? hurry up. you can't get here fast enough.

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

". . . hummingbird on crack." Ha! Great visual. Thank you for the fun read.

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *