Flower Boy Next Door: Episode 6
by javabeans
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 ]
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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.
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Tags: featured, Flower Boy Next Door, Kim Ji-hoon, Park Shin-hye, Yoon Shi-yoon
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51 Lori
January 23, 2013 at 9:57 AM
i hate jin rak. he interferes way too much. team enrique all the way.
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kumi
January 25, 2013 at 5:21 PM
Lori, there's no such thing as 'hate' in Enrique's team.
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52 Maris
January 23, 2013 at 10:36 AM
Another episode of revelations about the characters. Really love both Enrique and JR. They both care for Dokmi in different ways. How they act in the upcoming episodes will determine for me which pair to support. The gradual opening up of Dokmi and her slowly but sure increase of interaction because of the people in her neighbourhood is so fascinating thing to behold that at the moment I am totally satisfied with lack of any obvious romance. There is good point that you made that JR always puts Dokmi to the exclusion of anyone and anything else but that maybe because he is in love with her and at the moment E is not or has not realized it.
Do wish that other characters screen time is reduced to what is absolutely necessary specially DH. But maybe in order to understand the reason for DM's withdrawal we need to know more about her......she really bothers with each appearance.
I feel that DM has become stronger because of her past experience and will not let DH bulldoze herself back into her life. She will be firm and deal with her in her own way.The scars are too deep as we saw when they first met after so long.
Love the drama with awesome acting by everyone specially the main leads. PSH 's acting has been a revelation even to a fan like me......am totally curious to what will happen next.
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53 onyxx
January 23, 2013 at 10:56 AM
Jin-Rak's hair has taken a life of its own. i keep expecting one of the characters to make a comment about it because it just keeps popping up in my field of view -- distracting my attention from everything else that's going on LOL!
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54 onyxx
January 23, 2013 at 10:57 AM
Jin-Rak's hair has taken a life of its own. i keep expecting one of the characters to make a comment about his crazy hairstyle because it just keeps popping up in my field of view -- distracting my attention from everything else that's going on LOL!
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55 Ana
January 23, 2013 at 11:12 AM
I love the way you explain the stories. Thanks
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56 peaches
January 23, 2013 at 1:07 PM
i loved jin rak's line in the last episode where he said "women aren't a bright fixture" because it's true, even though there seems to be an expectation that women should always be bright and extroverted and happy. and we've probably all been guilty of idealizing our crushes. but jin rak also idealizes women- he has a set idea of how they should be, which is why he has a low regard for the girls that dong hoon hangs out with. a person on tumblr put it perfectly- "the virgin/whore dichotomy". so even though he grew on me a little bit because of how sweet the flipbook pictures are and how he looked at his phone to remind himself of his lines, in the end, i want dok mi to end up with enrique. and i'd rather not have her and do hwi reconcile and be friends again, i don't think that's necessary.
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57 Alvina
January 23, 2013 at 1:24 PM
Not even invested in the romance of this drama anymore tbh. Just want a Jin-Rak of my own.
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58 peaches
January 23, 2013 at 2:56 PM
oh and the whole cup-on-the-wall thing is only cute because jin-rak is doing it. in real life, a guy like jin-rak would just be kinda creepy.
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59 Rei
January 23, 2013 at 3:25 PM
OMGGGG THIS WAS SUCH A NICE EPISODE :D , can't wait for next week!! Also have you seen the preview of next week?? CAN'T WAIT :DDD
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60 owl
January 23, 2013 at 3:26 PM
Spoof and goof - aka episode 6. I am still laughing with my hands on my cheeks, so much cuteness. What a great line,"I'm like Armstrong, the first to step foot in this room" as Enrique entered Dok Mi's apt. So much to love in this episode, and how quirky that Jin rak is creating a webtoon about Dok Mi's life, while Dok Mi is editing the autobiographical book of Enrique's life. Such a twisty tangly triangle - the best! And the publisher gal - love that she snaps everytime - hyah!
Ack, Do hwi's coat reminds me of a polar bear who just killed its dinner on a North Pole iceberg and is dripping in its blood - worst fur coat ever!
DOng hoon as a model - ha! Laughs all around there.
Tae joon is a bit on the sidelines these days - wonder if he will fade out or fade in . . .
Flower boys once again has my heart, love this so much.
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mommai
January 23, 2013 at 8:15 PM
I happen to be shipping the webtoon director and Jin rak really hard, myself. She's just such a fun off the wall character and I think their weirdnesses would suit each other well ;)
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jubilantia
January 26, 2013 at 11:51 PM
RIGHT? Although I don't think I got it as much until she suddenly switched gears this episode and was all "Go confess to her already!"
She has to be given more depth before they can get together, though. All the main characters have so much dimension that tertiary characters will not do for them.
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61 Julia
January 23, 2013 at 4:06 PM
Has anyone noticed that JinRak seems to be depressed? He arrives at the apartment building 3 years. ago sharply dressed from an expensive car, and now he is schelping around with his hair sticking up in drab sweats and unshaven. I really have the sense that he is not Mr. CrankyPants by nature, that he is dealing with some big emotional issue, and that is keeping from the kind of laughing, bright person we saw briefly when he was running with Enrique.
I want SOMEONE to notice Jin-Rak's pain. Maybe it won't be Dok-Mi who is pretty introspective for her own issues. But please, writers, send someone to JinRak to help him with his pain.
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owl
January 23, 2013 at 4:59 PM
Yes, I did think that about Jin rak, too. Like the old joke, "You've been sitting around doing nothing for days." "How do you know?" "I've been sitting here watching you the whole time." So, who's the shut in, here anyhoot? The insides of both their apts. are cluttered to the max with daily life - an occupational hazaard of working from home, as is not going out unless you make a point to do so (I work from home, I know!)
He definitely seems depressed and dresses and looks the part of greyness all around. Unfortunately for him (and us) it's Do Hwi who's taken a notice of him - yuk!
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ladida
January 23, 2013 at 6:56 PM
Oh wow, I hadn't thought of that. Maybe fixating on something/one else (Dok Mi and the little drawings he does for her) is a way of dealing with it without confronting it head on?
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Waca
January 24, 2013 at 3:16 AM
I thought that too...
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62 Julia
January 23, 2013 at 4:14 PM
Speaking as someone whose become a hermit herself, I practically panic at the thought of someone I barely know moving in. I don't let anyone in my home, not family, not the postman, not friends. I think long and hard about if I can handle having a repairman come to my home when the furnace acts up. honestly, it takes me days to work up the courage to make the call and let someone in.
So don't for a moment think that having a person in DokMi's personal space isn't traumatic, even if Enrique wasn't talking fast and peeking around.
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unisaske
January 23, 2013 at 7:30 PM
Wow, from your perspective Dok-mi must have made a developmental milestone this episode. Not only has she let Enrique in, she's put-up with his hyper-active personality quite well. She's actually allowed him into her life and is in the process of getting to know him inside (with his manuscript) and outside (the humming-bird on crack).
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mommai
January 23, 2013 at 8:21 PM
I think Dok mi recognized the bond she and Enrique have, like when she was talking about fate, and also how he's the only person she talks abruptly to, so it's a different kind of thing to let Enrique himself in to her personal space. If someone like Dong hoon had wormed his way in there, she'd definitely be having some kind of meltdown. That's not to say she's comfortable with it, but she's able to be in "This is my house, so my rules" mode instead of having a panic attack.
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Jenn
January 25, 2013 at 4:52 PM
She has let him into her "emotional" space since he sees her crush, diary, etc. Now he's into her "physical" space... love this so much!!
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63 moe
January 23, 2013 at 4:23 PM
Really enjoying this Drama, I think things are developing so well, the flow in the story and just the characters is so much smoother than what I'm used to seeing in a Kdrama. Really appreciating that fact! Emotional realism (for the most part!) with just the right touch of humor ^_^
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64 Julia
January 23, 2013 at 4:38 PM
I like the idea of a romance where one character (ex. Enrique) exists not to become the leading man but to be the catalyst to invoke change in other characters so that they could grow and become ready for romance.
This catalyst could be a Puck like character that seems like a chaos agent by shaking things up and bringing a lot of humor.
I'm not saying FBND is going to go that route, but I would like to see a romcom that did that. I had hopes that Love Forward would be where the two beginning couples exist to change the person but be the wrong pairing and the swap then puts the right pairs together. It didn't quite work out like that, but I love the idea.
But I suppose no matter who gets paired together, we all end up developing our favorite man and forming a fan club. :-) I'm still undecided ... love Enrique and Jin-rak both.
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65 Julia
January 23, 2013 at 4:56 PM
It is only episode 6 and already I am SURE that 16 episodes will not be enough to quench my thirst to know about all the characters and think we should start planning a season 2 where we get to know more about Dong-Hoon and Wantanabe and Enrique's brother and all the other lovely folks who live in the building.
Really think the poster who said this should be called Friends Next Door is right ... let us love the characters and only get 16 episodes? Too cruel. I want more!
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66 meanrice
January 23, 2013 at 5:31 PM
So this week's eps, wow. The only thing I have to complain about is that Watanabe is not used more. It is a small point of contention, baby tooth sized small. Why is weird neighbor cougar and security guard getting more air time?
Drama, you satisfied my requests from last week to give Dok Mi's self imposed exile some context. I can now be on her side for this journey. You gave Jin Rak some balls, now we can enjoy the Enrique vs. Jin Rak tension. Although when they were coming out of the PC room, I thought, would it be so bad if they found bromance instead of romance? I would not be mad at that outcome. Kudos drama!
Your loyal fan,
Moi
PS - in my eyes, Do Hwi is not redeemable, so please don't even go down that path with me. I will be ever so disappointed if you do.
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67 ilikemangos
January 23, 2013 at 6:21 PM
I swear, every time a k-drama has a jjimjilbang scene (esp. in the dangerously cold weather we've had recently), makes me wanna go to one too.
King Spa, here I come.
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meanrice
January 23, 2013 at 6:56 PM
You live in Dallas too?
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Lizzy4e
January 24, 2013 at 7:05 AM
Dallas or Chicago they are in both cities. WooHoo King Spa! (I am in Dallas) Meanrice are you in Dallas?
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meanrice
January 24, 2013 at 1:50 PM
I am Lizzy4e! Finally someone in my vicinity who is Kdrama obsessed. My friends look at me with glazed over eyes now.
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Lizzy4e
January 25, 2013 at 1:11 PM
Howdy Neighbor!
I know! "you watch what?" That is what I hear from my friends. My tv is only in Korean and my radio is in Spanish. and I am as white-bread as they come.
68 turnip
January 23, 2013 at 6:39 PM
I hope Jin Rak doesn't tell Dok Mi about his crush because his crush on her is similar to Dok Mi spying on Tae Joon with the binoculars. He doesn't really like *her*, he likes the fantasy of a shy woman who keeps to herself. He wants to protect her from her fears, but all her anxieties are just that -- anxieties. She has to overcome them in order to become a better person, something Jin Rak has not realized but Enrique has. Dok Mi can now be assertive and confident around him, even if it's mostly when she's in work-mode, and that might never have happened if Enrique hadn't coaxed her out from her comfort zones. So in that aspect, I think Enrique would be the better partner for Dok Mi and I hope the Jin Rak crushing on Dok Mi storyline gets resolved soon.
I like Do Hwi and am looking forward who her relationship with Dok Mi develops. It seems like she realized her mistake from high school and wants to be friends with the first person who ever cared about the real Do Hwi, not the image she tries to put out in order to seem likeable. Right now I'm not totally seeing how Do Hwi/Jin Rak could work as an endgame couple, but I think it might become clearer once Do Hwi's story further unravels.
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Wendy
January 23, 2013 at 7:26 PM
Why ? dok mi, she has no backbone of her own ? she need to lean to someone like enrique ?
it could be with other characters too but she choosed not to.
Respect her privacy enrique .
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turnip
January 23, 2013 at 7:34 PM
I didn't mean she has no back bone, just that her anxieties are holding her back from being more confident person and Enrique is the only person who has noticed this.
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unisaske
January 23, 2013 at 7:39 PM
Would the story get anywhere though if no one came to disturb that force field that Dok-mi discover she had a backbone until Enrique came to ruffle her feathers. There is such a thing as respecting privacy but for characters like her, abrupt desensitizing works better. Jin-rak and Dok-mi are making more progress in 3 days than they ever had in 3 years.
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unisaske
January 23, 2013 at 7:42 PM
edited version of the reply above: hehehe
Would the story get anywhere though if no one came to disturb that force field that Dok-mi put up between her and the rest of the world? Yes, Dok-mi didn't discover she had a backbone until Enrique came to ruffle her feathers. There is such a thing as respecting privacy but for characters like her, abrupt desensitizing works better. Jin-rak and Dok-mi are making more progress in 3 days than they ever had in 3 years.
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mommai
January 23, 2013 at 8:35 PM
I'm still not seeing Do-Hwi being actually repentant and sincere about her relationship with Dok-Mi. So far she's been acting like either what she did to Dok-Mi was no big deal, or has been using their former friendship as a tool to look better to others and get in closer to Jin-Rak (who she knows is Oh Jae-Won and that seems to have some significance to her). If they show something soon that does show some sincerity and self-reflection starting to grow in Do-Hwi and it doesn't come in one big dump on top of Dok-Mi in the middle of things, then I'll start wishing for the relationship to mend.
I was a little surprised at first that Dok-Mi seemed like she had forgiven Do-Hwi, (probably because the betrayal was just fresh for us and we saw the injustice of the whole thing and I was a little riled up) or at least understood where her awful actions came from, but then I thought, if I had been really best friends with someone then something like that happened, if I loved them that much then I would be able to let their actions go in part. Dok-mi does say that she doesn't want any more bad blood between them, and seems to want to just let it go and move on, just on a separate path from Do-Hwi. we'll see how the contact between them goes.
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sirena
January 24, 2013 at 8:06 AM
I agree with your assessment of Doh-hwi. She oozes manipulator out of every pore! Dok Mi is definetly starting to regain her spirit. It may be a slow process but that doesn't matter. What matters is that she is changing :)
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pshaw
January 29, 2013 at 10:43 PM
I'm not sure if we're watching the same drama, but Do Hwi as repentant-friend-trying-to-make-amends she is not. It is very clear that she's only using her past friendship with Dok Mi as a ploy to get close to her serious-crush-of-the-moment Jin Rak. I mean -- geez, just watch this episode! She deliberately misinterpreted the teacher's interest in Dok Mi ("How can he possibly show any interest in her but not me? She seduced him, that's how!"), then wormed her way in to the bitchy school girls' clique by spreading those nasty rumors, then lied about it to Jin Rak ("I'm good at writing and I was the teacher's favorite!"), and to make it ten times worse, keeps pretending it's no big deal as she keeps trying to get chummy with Dok Mi once more.
I honestly try to see any redeeming qualities in Do Hwi -- but there clearly isn't any! She keeps throwing herself at Jin Rak and the guy is just the tad bit repulsed by her! And what's with her clothes?! She's dressed like a furry pink flamingo one time and the abominable snowman after a frenzied feed the next! I cringe every time she comes on screen. I honestly hope she gets her comeuppance sometime in the future. Although I detest the character, I have to give kudos for the actress playing her.
I just hope the writers don't try to force any reconciliation between her and Dok Mi. The reason why Dok Mi had isolated herself from the rest of the world is because she doesn't feel as if she can trust anyone any more, having been betrayed so spectacularly by her best friend (and possibly her only friend). It'll do her more good to stand up for herself and tell off Do Hwi once and for all.
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69 Penelope
January 23, 2013 at 7:03 PM
TQ JB,
Korean scriptwriters can write some unlogic situations eventhough we root for those that we like very much, as we hope it will end the way we like it.
BUT luckily this time the casts, they are not pop. idols, if it is then writer have to succumb to the fans of those eg. like in MY.
So lets see if this writer is fair in his or her character execution.
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70 denwanai
January 23, 2013 at 7:32 PM
It is great to watch the show, then come here for the bits I didn't get, e.g., the call from his publisher and the list of editor names. Also the sticky with the TV travel shows she plans to watch. Aha!
Loved that Neil Armstrong reference from Enrique. Such a great character. Love'em all. yes, even Dol-whi. Thanks for recapping so quickly and thanks Dramafever for subbing so fast. (unusual for them)
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71 Piccolapapi
January 23, 2013 at 8:11 PM
Beautifully summarized. Thank you. :)
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72 kisschuu
January 23, 2013 at 8:35 PM
Haha I think I might be the only one that doesn't really like Jin-rak. I don't hate the guy but I just love Enrique so much and I want him to end up with Dok-mi. Since Jin-rak is the second lead, he most likely will not end up with her but he's starting to annoy me.
Also, I think Enrique understands Dok-mi better. Jin-rak doesn't know who Dok-mi really is since she only shows her true self to Enrique. I also agree that Dok-mi can't avoid and hide from people forever, so Enrique will help her open up more.
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73 kumi
January 23, 2013 at 8:36 PM
Am I hearing "Voices of Spring" by Strauss each time Jin Rak is trying to court Dok Mi?
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thursdaynexxt
January 25, 2013 at 12:10 AM
Yes, I think you're right! It's a nice touch.
I was cracking up at the Richard Clayderman moment at the end of Ep 5 when Jin-rak is trying to 'confess' to Dok-mi - they played "Ballade pour Adeline", so cheesy :)
That boy's just a bundle of cliches! In a way, he needs to come out of his ivory tower, just as much as Dok-mi does. And I'm hoping Enrique's just the puppy to do it.
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thursdaynexxt
January 25, 2013 at 8:16 PM
oopsie, my typo. To *help* them to do it, i mean.
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74 Wendilynn
January 23, 2013 at 9:09 PM
I think your missing out that she is also referring to her connection to Jin Rak. His confession about his drawings on her milk carton has not gone unnoticed by her. She understands, more then she is letting on that she is in the middle of something involving all of them. And clearly, she is not happy about that fact.
YSY is clearly having way too much fun playing Enrique. And Jin Rak still is proving to be my favorite character so far.
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75 Almontel
January 23, 2013 at 10:14 PM
thanks so much for great recap as always...i look forward to your point of view...
i so love this episode, at least JinRak is finally admitting to everyone beside DokMi that he's in love with her...ke ke ke..it's about time..
i love enrique too but i don't know why i'm shipping the second lead more...JinRak is just too much of a flower boy to be set aside...
i can't wait for next week's episode...I'm glad our Monday/Tuesdays no longer in the blues....
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76 Cristy
January 24, 2013 at 12:14 AM
thank you jb for the recap.
i like the pace of this drama - episode 5, we now know that it was jin rak who put those post-it-notes on the milk box; episode 7 jin rak is stepping up against enrique.
i wonder what will it be next week - there are still mysteries that need to be resolved.
this drama is simple, but entertaining and penetrates the heart.
i love yoon shi yoon; perfectly acted enrique geum. this role is probaly a big challenge to park shin hye who is a natural bright girl who finds humour and laughter in everything that she sees.
i think the next episodes will no longer be a comedy, but real drama. we will probably know the story behind Jin Rak - why he changed his name and why he gave his real name to Enrique.
i believe there will be confrontation between jin rak and dok mi once the webtoon created by jin rak comes on air and dok mi will watch it. hahahaha....can't wait for the drama to unfold.
lets continue to watch FBND!
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77 red
January 24, 2013 at 1:41 AM
when does the next episode come out?
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78 piggy68gal
January 24, 2013 at 1:57 AM
Thanks for the recap! I am loving this drama so much! I really like how Dok Mi isn't the usual bright and chirpy female lead, and how Enrique Geum isn't the usual cold and broody male lead. It's like the roles have been reversed, sort of. Also, I don't get how some people say Dok Mi's boring. Personally, I don't find her boring at all, probably because I can relate to her personality and mannerisms, somewhat. i find her pretty interesting. She is actually shaping up to be one of my favourite K-drama female characters all-time! (There are only 2 so far--Kim Sam Soon from MNIKSS and Baek Yeo Chi from History of the Salaryman~) :)
The flowers boys are awesome, as usual. Especially Enrique Geum! I still don't fancy Jin Rak (I think I am one of the few...), and to be honest I don't think I will like him as much as the other flower boys. Do Hwi is irritating, but I am looking forward to how her and Dok Mi, as well as with Jin Rak's relationship will develop.
Can't wait for next week's episodes! :)
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79 GCV
January 24, 2013 at 3:35 AM
There's no way for Jin Rak to know who Dok Mi really is if they have barely talked, and that's not entirely his fault. Maybe he likes Dok Mi because she is similar to him, as in being introverted or having a bad past. And it's not like he has bad intentions for her. If you watch his reactions every time something happens to Dok Mi he's always watching her. I don't think it's necessarily that he hinders her development to open up but he just wants her to be happy. He even said so himself that he wants to get her smile back. I'm liking the way he's starting to come out of his shell now and fighting for Dok Mi's heart. I can thank Enrique for that. Anyways i have a feeling Jin Rak isnt going to win Dok Mi's heart in the end but ohhhhh a girl can hope!! =] Jin Rak fightinggggggg!!
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80 rochinipark
January 24, 2013 at 3:43 AM
i've always come across kdramas,whereby the parents divorce and if they remarried, the child they had together seem to not end up with either of them and will be send to the grandparents. This is really sad,its like with new family and new children, the parents are trying to erase the previous marriage from their life.This happens in many Asian countries.This is really wrong.A child should not be treated like this,like and unwanted object cast aside.
Side note,really loving this drama.Energizer bunny,Enrique is barreling into everyone's life.Dok Mi coming out.in some ways i'm like her,i love being at home and in my room,though i do go out to work but that's also indoor as i'm an office worker.Like to be outdoors though.
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81 Lixie
January 24, 2013 at 5:29 AM
I really wanted to like this show but I just can't get into it. I like it but it's just ok and I hoped it would be way better.
PSH seems too inexpressive, GDM is traumatized, reclusive but not depressed, she just seems numb most of the time.
Enrique is kind of over the top, a guy can be cheerful and bubbly without being silly ie Jeremy from YAB or EG from TTBY.
Her ex friend is also over the top.
Jin Rak is nice and realistic, his friend is good too but as a result they don't match the rest of the show.
The pace is horribly slow for me too, its the 6 ep! The long awaited revelation about her trauma felt weak to me. It had no punch and was not even well explained. Who said she was at the teacher house? Was she? It was just a rumor? Nobody denied because they were too stupid to do it?
Finally the one thing good at the beginning was that it had little coincidences, everybody kept bumping into each other because they live in the same place. Makes sense. Now the game creator who is also super famous ???? get to write an autobiography ???? and hires her as editor. Pft. Lame.
I'll keep watching though because I still think it can get better.
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Geurae
January 27, 2013 at 8:04 AM
Relax and take it slow. This drama is about the lives of a group of people who live close to each other tht gets shaken up with the appearance of Enrique.
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82 Lizzy4e
January 24, 2013 at 6:59 AM
I love how Dong Hoon explains, with hand movements no-less, the facts of a man and a woman, all night long… What a cute character!
Oh, they are all cute with the exception of Do Hwi.
I totally get why the older woman wants to hang out with the pretty boys. hahahaha
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83 glitzmadrb
January 24, 2013 at 7:02 AM
Wahaha. This is such a crazy show, but I love it. It just kills me that at this point of the show, I don't know who I'm actually rooting for Dok Mi to end up with (Enrique or Jin Rak?) because I like both of them.
Looking forward to the next episodes and recap! :-)
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84 Callmestacy
January 24, 2013 at 7:57 AM
I really wanted to say that even though right now I feel like Enrique might have crossed the line a bit. But i'm certain that he's doing it for a reason, one that will definitely help Dok Mi.
Many people think that Jin Rak stepped it up, or became a man or whatever in this episode with his outburst with Enrique. BUT WTF MAN! I think that he's pussy. Why did he have to shout at Enrique in front of everyone for a business that he is obviously not part of? If he really wanted whats good for Dok Mi, he would have asked her if she wanted to accept the gift and not just suppose that she really didn't want it.
Okay, even if she really didn't want it. Is it really so bad that Enrique brought her it, and then later, when she had time to clear her head, then decide whether or not she actually wants it? She should face her fears and Enrique taking the "present" for her is just giving her a step to take. If she really didn't want it, then she would have told Enrique herself. Jin Rak didn't have to shout in front of everyone.
Guys, not that I don't like him (not that I do) I just think that Jin Rak can't accept the thought that Enrique is close enough with Jin Rak to accept gifts for her. That's why he's so emotional. But then again. isn't he always?
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kisschuu
January 24, 2013 at 9:39 AM
I completely agree with everything you said!
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Maris
January 27, 2013 at 10:37 AM
Personally, I feel that nobody has the right to accept on someone's behalf gifts that were refused by them. Enrique does not even need to know the background of DM and DH's past to realize they are not friends. No matter how much well-meant there has to be a limit to interfering in someone else's personal matter. He is not even a close friend or a family member. He is in no position to judge and decide. In this particular instance he seems out of line.
On the other hand, JR can sense the bad blood between the two and that's why he stopped D from interfering and also requested a talk with E. Each time DM turned and looked at him as someone who understands what she is feeling.
But, again this is the last scene which has yet to play out in the next episode. So, I feel we cannot truly come to a correct conclusion as regards to who is right or wrong until we see what comes next.
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85 sirena
January 24, 2013 at 8:01 AM
So, in my previous post I postulated that a misunderstanding surrounding the literature teacher was the source of the conflict between Doh-hwi and Dok Mi. I was right! I find it strange that such a little thing could cause two 'close friends' to become enemies. I could've understood if Do-hwi had been upset and if she would've demanded that Dok Mi explain the situtation. Friends will fight and they will misunderstand each other every once in a while. However, true friends will overcome these hurdles. My question is: was Doh-hwi truly Dok Mi's friend? Were the foundations of their friendship so weak, that they crumbled so easily?
As to the ending of the episode, I believe that Enrique was the only one who truly grasped the nature of the 'relationship' between Dok Mi and Doh-hwi. Enrique was able to unmask Doh hwi for who she really is--a hypocrite. Jin Rak still has the idealized vision of Dok Mi as this wilting flower who needs to be sheltered and protected. This is true--to an extent. His desire to protect Dok Mi might have the reverse effect of making her withdraw furthur into herself. Enrique's methods are extreme but Dok Mi seems to be responding. I noticed that Dok Mi turned on the heat on her apartment (something she had never done) when Enrique complained of the cold. She also invited him into her apartment!
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Peridot
January 24, 2013 at 10:05 AM
For some reason, I wasn't pleased with the explanation of the souring of Do-hwi and Dok-mi's relationship. I know that teenagers can be petty, but come on...Do-hwi sees her friend talking to the professor and joins the side of the bullies? There has to be more to the story. I am not sure that the writer-nim will delve further into Do-hwi's character (as the episodes are relatively short and many of the secondary characters have not been further developed), but if he/she does, perhaps he/she could look at little into the psychology of someone so afraid of being picked on that she chose to join her aggressors. Did she use the misunderstanding as an excuse to join the other side? Anyway, suffice it to say that I am not satisfied with the backstory of the conflict. Also, viewers need to see a little bit more of what would drive Dok-mi to retreat from the world. Maybe the story will add more developed flashbacks in the remaining episodes.
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sirena
January 24, 2013 at 10:40 AM
I feel the same. I am not convinced with such a simplistic explanation. We need to delve deeper into this aspect of the story.
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meanrice
January 24, 2013 at 6:35 PM
I feel like they kind of did that when Do-Hwi (hiss and spit) was telling Jin Rak of how she took care of Dok Mi after her parents divorce and respective remarriage. From Dok Mi's perspective the instant that Do-Hwi (hiss and spit) abandoned her and became her tormentor, that was it wasn't it? The third person in your life (mom and pops being 1 and 2) who supposedly loved and cared for you, turned on you for no reason whatsoever** and left you to the wolves. Not only left you, but became bad mama jamma wolf #1.
And there is no way Do-Hwi (hiss and spit) feels remorse of has changed because she still keeps company with the same girls. If I was plagued by guilt for the Joseph McCarthy shit I just pulled, I would have re-invented myself and repented a lot earlier. All she does is kill muppets and wear their pelts.
**I am not sure if Dok Mi knew at the time it was because Do-Hwi (hiss and spit) saw her crush touching her best friend.
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Lizzy4e
January 25, 2013 at 1:14 PM
"(hiss and spit)" lol really lol!
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PSHAW
February 2, 2013 at 10:02 PM
mwe-he-hehe ....
dok mi (hiss and spit) ....
....heeelarious.
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PSHAW
February 2, 2013 at 10:04 PM
Also ..."all she does is kill muppets and wear their pelts."
tee-hee! that just killed me.
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sirena
February 5, 2013 at 2:00 PM
"All she does is kill muppets and wear their pelts" Best comment ever!
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86 IBkaytee
January 24, 2013 at 8:38 AM
I could understand Enrique's childish behavior a little more. Success at such a young age disallowed him to act like a kid when he was supposed to. His childish act still gets on my nerves though. There's something that irks me about the way Enrique is practically forcing Dok Mi to step outside her comfort zone...i get his good intentions but the man just needs to take it down a notch.
I was so proud of Jin Rak taking a big step like that. I'm almost certain Dok Mi has catched on to his feelings. His utter devotion to her and need to protect her had be 'aw-ing'
A little disappointed however at the hole Dok Mi scarred complex story. I feel like PSH's act isn't convincing enough (although i love her to death) of a person scarred at the betrayal of her past. I also thought the flash back was done a little hastily and didn't encapsulate the full extent of how it effected PSH to the point she locks herself up.
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87 whitethorns
January 24, 2013 at 9:06 AM
I am team Jinrak!!
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88 Rita
January 24, 2013 at 9:24 AM
thanks jb
dong hoon is indeed a smart roomate to bring the 4 of them out in the open - the corridor for their showdown.
Good to watch the coming phase off between jin rak and enrique, will jin rak stay resilllent to enrique's confession to dok mi ? or will dok mi call it quits to enrique ?.
Interesting - next episode cooking lesson at room 403 ?, will jin rak get to see her not too messy apartment ?.
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89 Lilian
January 24, 2013 at 10:12 AM
I think this is Park Shi hye's best role so far. Her most challenging too. Cannot wait to see how her character changes.
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90 grace
January 24, 2013 at 10:27 AM
lol if she didnt want JIN RAK...its ok ...i have my hand opened..lol you can run to me any time jin..
he was my fave since "stars falling from the sky" ..
.HE MORE DESERVE TO BE A LEAD.....
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91 red
January 24, 2013 at 1:38 PM
love this show. its just so different. i love the character there all so out their in their own ways and they are easy to relate to. i dont get why they keep saying fighting though :?
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92 Ennayra
January 24, 2013 at 3:04 PM
Thanks for the recap!
Strangely, this was the first episode where I actually thought of Tae-joon as hot. It's because he reminded me a little of Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who I've been crushing on since he did the movie "Brick" in 2005...
Anyway, how exciting is it that Jin-rak is starting to learn about Dok-mi's past and about her personality? I still think he views her as more fragile than she really is, but at least he's seen her smiling. :-)
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93 Diw
January 24, 2013 at 6:03 PM
Do-whi always reminds me of Donquixote Doflamingo of One Piece, with all the furs shes wearing specially the pink ones.
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94 Diw
January 24, 2013 at 6:04 PM
Do-whi always reminds me of Donquixote Doflamingo of One Piece, with all the furs shes wearing specially the pink ones. And also they both possess the nasty and sarcastic attitude. Both are flamboyant too.
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95 ajewell
January 25, 2013 at 5:17 AM
Does anyone know what song starts playing around 8:06, when Dok-mi starts walking home after being ostracized by her classmates in the flashback??
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96 Yasmin
January 25, 2013 at 6:25 PM
I love Enrique.
I hope they get together.
Tbh, I think they will. I just have that feeling that she likes him more.
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97 just a thought
January 26, 2013 at 7:12 PM
I love reverse harem shows, sometimes it is too hard to pick. In this case, I love both Enrique and Jin Rak for different reasons, but by the end of this episode I was definitely rooting for Jin Rak. Specifically his support of Dok Mi refusing Do Hwi's gifts.
Dok Mi needs to work up to encountering things head on, like Enrique wants, but I totally sympathize with her refusal. Sometimes the refusal of things by past tormentors is not about being anti-social (or putting up barriers), but about a matter of pride.
While Enrique doesn't know the back story between the two ex-friends, his refusal to have anything go against what he sees is best is staring to make me slightly irritated. Especially since he forced his way into a 'free-loading' living situation with Dok Mi, as well as black mailing her through her job into having to spend more time with him. If you look at it this way, the childish and cute Enrique is just as manipulative as the antagonist Cha Do Hwi.
At this point, I am fighting between the man who thinks he knows who Dok Mi is, and the man who thinks he knows how Dok Mi should be.
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dayoldbagel
January 27, 2013 at 1:50 AM
I disagree with some of this. Especially you saying that enrique is manipulative...since, as far as i know, a person must be seeking personal gain in order to be considered manipulative. Enrique is doing what he is doing hoping to improve dok-mi's life, not his own, and is being very upfront about his intentions, unlike DW. To some, his methods, as well as whether he has any right to do what he's doing, might be questionable...but his intentions aren't.
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98 jubilantia
January 26, 2013 at 11:34 PM
SO. AWESOME.
I love the shots of Enrique going exuberantly stir-crazy in her tiny apartment, and him doing the things that "Korean youths do when they run away".
I thought that last few minutes of interaction was really intricate and well-done. Up to now, Enrique has been the perceptive one that can pretty much read Dok-mi like a book, but in this situation he was pretty oblivious. Jin-rak was, perhaps for the first time, accurate in his reading of Dok-mi. It was a neat role-reversal, and one that needs to happen.
However, the more that I think about it, I'm not sure whether or not Enrique is still ahead of Jin-rak by being willfully obtuse. Even if that's true, he's being pretty insensitive, since he doesn't know what really went down between the ex-friends. Still, it could symbolize how Jin-rak, given the opportunity, would allow Dok-mi to stay in her bubble. Which wouldn't be a bad thing, if it wasn't so obviously an unnatural state for her.
The one thing I found slightly distressing was Jin-rak's attitude in that last shot- it feels very "Me Tarzan protect Jane, talk rival man. Tiny woman, no input." Hopefully this will turn out not to be the case.
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99 Geurae
January 27, 2013 at 8:15 AM
Jin Rak is adorable even with his cute and borderline obsessive stalkerish ways.
But sometimes his character can get a bit too excessive. I mean, he has created a false image of Dok Mi and he wants to protect her from anything because she's this damsel when that protection will ultimately do her no good. I just feel that at the end of the episode, Jin Rak should not have said those words to Enrique in front of everyone else either.
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jubilantia
January 27, 2013 at 1:09 PM
YEAH. It came off as super mansplainy to me. Like, he's not going to talk to Dok-mi about her life, he's going to talk to someone who's orbiting it and try to "protect" but actually control her that way. And it's unfortunate, because up to that moment in that scene, I thought he was being really perceptive and seeing what was going on rather than just what he wanted to.
Hopefully the beginning of next episode will show some sort of subversion or reversal.
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100 Bravehart
January 28, 2013 at 12:24 AM
I love how Shinhye is doing more mature and serious roles its about time to move to being a woman love her curly long hair makes her more matured! I want him to have a chance with the doctor but I like the secret love also of the guy next door. Think his from a rich family I like the free spirited boy Aghhh who to choose
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