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School 2013: Episode 13

This one’s a tearjerker, but there’s also a lot of light to balance the doom and gloom. That’s one thing this show usually manages to do well—if one storyline is going down, another’s going up, and for every broken relationship, there’s usually another back on the mend. It’s an episode about facing reality, and for some, it’s the hardest thing they’ve ever had to do.

 
EPISODE 13 RECAP

Down in the library, the essay competition comes to a screeching halt as Se-chan is told that his question has been leaked. Upstairs, the boys trip the alarm on their way out of the teachers’ office.

Way to look really guilty while trying to prevent a crime, boys. They panic, but so does Jung-ho, who runs back toward the office at the sound of the alarm.

Heung-soo screams his name and Jung-ho freezes. This could really go badly for him, but thankfully grabs the bag of cell phones and shoves it back in the cabinet.

He looks like he might tear Jung-ho a new one, but then he turns and tells him to run. Aw, they totally saved his undeserving ass just now. Tomorrow you get all the lunchmeat.

The three of them take off running, and Nam-soon is quick enough to get out, but the other two get cut off by the security guard. They turn around and run the other way… straight into Se-chan who’s holding the bag of cell phones. Busted.

Jung-ho does the guiltiest thing ever and takes one look at the bag and runs the other way. Heung-soo looks up at Teach warily.

While all this is going on, In-jae proctors the exam, and starts worrying about Min-ki. Yes, please, go with your gut on this. She does, and starts searching the school.

And then up on the roof, Min-ki uses a chair to step up onto the ledge. He takes a deep breath and inches forward, clutching his backpack till his knuckles turn white. Ohgodohgodohgod. I can’t watch.

His toes inch forward to the very edge, and he looks down…

Nam-soon runs out, grumbling at the idiots who ran further into the school. And then a thud. Nooooo.

Nam-soon turns around… and finds Min-ki’s backpack on the ground. Oh phew. He sees the name on the notebook and doesn’t think much of it, except that it’s odd.

But then In-jae comes running out behind him and asks if he’s seen Min-ki. He shows her the backpack, and then she instinctively looks up with panic in her eyes.

They both freeze as they look up, and then they run up the stairs. In-jae reaches the doorway and takes a breath… and there’s Min-ki, sitting down next to the chair, hunched over. Oh thank you.

She approaches cautiously, saying just once, “Min-ki-ya…” When she gets close, he finally looks up, tears swirling.

She just wraps him in a hug. They both start breathing again as they cry, and Min-ki just says what he always does: “I’m sorry. Teacher, I’m sorry.” She pats his back saying, “No, it’s okay. Everything’s going to be okay. It’s okay.”

Nam-soon stands back the whole time, and seeing that it’s okay, he just quietly leaves Min-ki’s backpack in the doorway and leaves.

In-jae takes Min-ki down to the office to warm his hands on a cup of tea, and asks carefully why he threw his backpack down. Min-ki: “It was too heavy.” She asks how it felt to throw it down, and he says it was scary. “I thought it would land right away, but it took a long time to hit the ground. Longer than I thought.”

And then he finally looks up at her and says as if he’s just now realizing this: “I… must’ve really gone up there to die, the roof…”

He says again that he’s sorry. In-jae does a really good job of holding it together, forcing her tears to stay in. She says, “Everybody at one time or another wants to die. It’s not wrong to have those thoughts. But when you want to die, enduring that and surviving—that’s really commendable.”

Min-ki starts to cry as she tells him sincerely that he’s crossed a really tall mountain today, “and I’m just really really grateful for you, because you’re strong.” *TEARS*

Min-ki says he’s thought of it just now: “You said that there are no flowers that bloom without being shaken.” Aww.

He asks if he’s just being shaken right now, and she nods. And then he asks if she’s just being shaken too. That’s your way of asking her not to go, isn’t it? She nods again, barely holding back the tears. He says it’s a relief that she’s here.

Nam-soon finds Heung-soo cleaning the windows as his punishment, and they jokingly call the other a traitor and a slowpoke. But it’s bad timing to be standing there, since Se-chan arrives, sizes up the situation, and decides that Nam-soon was in on it along with Jung-ho. He instructs Nam-soon to grab a rag and start polishing, and Heung-soo just smiles. You two.

In-jae stops by the office where she and Se-chan catch up in a cute I’ll-tell-about-my-crap-day-later moment, and say goodnight for now.

And then Se-chan calls out to her, saying the same thing that Min-ki said: “On a night like tonight, it’s a relief that you’re here.” You don’t even know the half of it, mister. He sits in the office a while longer, wondering how his essay prompt got leaked.

Nam-soon asks how Heung-soo knew that Jung-ho was going to do something stupid. Heung-soo brags at his quick sleuthing, and then admits he knows Jung-ho borrowed some money from those gangsters.

Se-chan comes by, so they jump up to go through the motions of cleaning. I’m pretty sure Heung-soo’s been polishing that one window for hours, and it looks worse than before.

Se-chan’s pretty damn quick on the uptake himself, because he asks why Jung-ho took the phones and put them back. Nam-soon says he brought them back of his own accord, so Se-chan wonders why these two knuckleheads got mixed up in it.

Nam-soon quotes Heung-soo’s sleuthy skills as the culprit. (I love that he calls him “our Heung-soo.”) Se-chan tells them their homework is to bring Jung-ho to school tomorrow, and threatens that they’ll take the fall if they don’t get him here.

In-jae takes Min-ki home and wants to tell his mother everything, but he doesn’t let her come inside, promising to tell Mom himself. Yeah, I don’t think that’s gonna go the way you think. In-jae finally relents and asks to speak to Mom on the phone later.

Nam-soon and Heung-soo walk home, and reach the split in their paths. Nam-soon offers to pick up Jung-ho on his own tomorrow, which Heung-soo doesn’t even pretend to decline.

Nam-soon calls out to Heung-soo again, but stops short with a “Never mind.” As he watches Heung-soo leave, Nam-soon grumbles to himself, “Doesn’t the bastard ever get hungry? I want ramyun.”

Min-ki goes home and tells Mom he didn’t do the essay competition, but doesn’t say anything more than that. In-jae arrives home and realizes that there’s no way Min-ki could tell his mom about his suicide attempt on his own, so she picks up the phone.

Mom trembles as she hears the terrifying news, and promises to go see In-jae tomorrow. Min-ki gets up and walks down the hall, still haunted by the feeling of standing up on that ledge and letting go of his backpack.

He stops at his brother’s door and calls out to him in a tiny voice. Mom hears him through her door. He confesses to his brother that he went up to the roof tonight, and the though occurred to him that hyung might’ve done the same at some point.

He admits that he blames his hyung for how stifling his life is, and how trapped he feels. “But even still, I miss you.” Mom muffles her cries from her room. Min-ki: “Hyung, come out now. Mom and I… are so lonely.”

In the morning, Nam-soon screeeeeeams Jung-ho’s name from his gate, ready to break down the door if he has to. Jung-ho finally comes out, but refuses to go to school.

Nam-soon just yanks him back by his backpack and points out he’s wearing his uniform, and asks why he ever came back with the phones, if he was really never going to come back to school.

His point made, he pats Jung-ho on the butt like his dog and tells him to come to school. I do enjoy this new dynamic where Jung-ho can’t do much other than act like he’s putting up a fight and stew in the injustice of bowing to the kid he used to beat up for lunch money.

Min-ki’s mom wrings her hands nervously, not knowing how to face him in the morning. She lets him go to school on his own, and just grabs him in a hug without saying a word.

Se-chan informs the principal about the test leak, saying it’s her problem to deal with since he’s not the source. She warns that he could take the blame in all this, and he says snidely that the worst they could do is fire him, since they seem to like doing that around here.

Uhmforce asks him about the alarm last night, and Se-chan lies that he tripped it by accident. In-jae is told her replacement has been found, and she’ll be out in a week. Se-chan seems to be more upset by the news than anyone.

Min-ki arrives in class to find that he’s the topic of everyone’s conversation for cheating. Kang-joo tries to defend him, but Min-ki just walks out of class.

Nam-soon follows him out (after noting Jung-ho’s entrance with a smile) and Min-ki thanks him for last night. Nam-soon asks what for, pretending that they don’t know and yesterday was just like any other day.

In-jae takes Min-ki aside to tell him that cheating was wrong, no matter who put the answers in his hand. She adds that she called his mom last night and told her everything, and he looks up, surprised and probably really grateful.

She tells him that his mom loves him very much. “Everything passes. It seems big now, but it’ll pass too. Enduring that time—that’s strength.”

Se-chan tells the class that they’ll have a do-over competition and the school will investigate the first one. He pulls Jung-ho out of class, and they’re nearly in the clear… until Uhmforce stops them in the hall.

He asks about the broken cabinet door, threatening to watch the security tapes when Se-chan pretends not to know about it. Se-chan finally says that someone took the phones for just a minute and put them right back, and Uhmforce looks right at Jung-ho and takes him away.

He’s surprisingly lenient, mostly because Jung-ho brought them back. He adds more time to his already long term on cleaning duty, and then asks why he did return. Was it because he didn’t want to be expelled?

Jung-ho: “No, it’s not because of that. It was because of Teacher Jung. I didn’t want her to really get fired ’cause of me.” WHAT. Well that’s a twist I didn’t see coming.

In-jae meets with Min-ki’s mom, who looks a wreck, but stiffens at the suggestion that she try family therapy. She does thank In-jae sincerely, for holding onto Min-ki last night.

He walks her out to the car, and Mom asks if he’d rather transfer to avoid the cheating rumors, but he says he’d rather stay with his friends and endure. She agrees to his choice without a fight, and then adds that he can major in whatever he likes in college.

He lights up in this way we’ve never seen before: “Really?” She says he still has to go to Seoul U though, and he immediately whines. She asks him for some time for her to give up on her dreams too, and they share their first real moment of understanding and compromise. Thank goodness.

Se-chan is told that the essay leak must’ve come from a tutoring academy, and he asks which one because he wants to work his contacts. Hm, the VP looks suspiciously nervous at that suggestion.

Sure enough, he finds Se-chan alone and confesses that he may have sort of talked about the prompt to his buddy who runs an academy, and swears up and down he never knew that Min-ki went there. Uh-huh. He begs Se-chan to let it go, which of course he doesn’t do.

In-jae asks Se-chan to meet her after school tonight, and he seems excited about it until she says it’s to catch him up on the last few days and also pass along everything he needs to run the class without her.

He fakes having an appointment he forgot about (hee, such an avoidy child when he wants to be), and she says, “I think this is reality—that many teachers can’t be the kind of teacher they initially wanted to be.” She says she just can’t see the next part—what she’s supposed to do after realizing that.

She heads to class and after hearing the rumors about the essay and Min-ki, decides to address them directly. She tells them that another un-named teacher, not Se-chan, made a mistake and talked about the essay prompt. She also reminds them that while Min-ki did do something wrong by bringing the answer with him that night, he also gave up the competition because he didn’t want to win by cheating. She asks that they remember that, and that they should ask themselves if they could’ve done the same.

Later with the remedial class, she asks the boys if there’s anything in particular they want to learn. Young-woo raises his hand and says he wants to learn how to write poems, and Jung-ho gripes passive-aggressively: “What’s the point? You’re just leaving anyway.” She says starting is always most important, and tells them to think about things they’ve experienced, and write down just one sentence about anything they’re feeling right now. Ji-hoon: “Studying is really hard.” Young-woo: “I like poems.”

Nam-soon: “I want to eat ramyun.” In-jae has to force Heung-soo’s hand away from his page so she can read what he wrote: “I want to eat ramyun.” HA. It’s his embarrassment that cracks me up, coupled with Nam-soon’s goofy smile.

She asks Jung-ho what he wrote, and he says he doesn’t feel like it, so she tells him he’s stuck here until he writes something down, and dismisses everyone else. It’s cute that when he tries to get up, his buddies force him back down in his seat.

She tells him to just write one line, and he takes out his phone instead. Aw man, we’re back to this? But then he gets up and says he sent it to her, and she gets a text as he walks out. We don’t see what it is but it makes her smile.

Nam-soon and Heung-soo go out to eat ramyun together, but they’re acting pretty damn surly about it. Ah, it’s because In-jae forced them to do it because of their jinxy one-liners, and they both complain that the other wrote the same thing.

She ordered them to send her a photo as proof (Best homework ever.) so Nam-soon snuggles up to Heung-soo… who holds up his ramyun and smiles so adorably it blows my mind.

Once the photo is sent, Heung-soo shoves Nam-soon away like he has cooties. They don’t even get to take a bite before Heung-soo gets a call, and all he shouts is, “So why’d you call me?”

He tells Nam-soon that Jung-ho got hauled off by the gangsters and owes them upwards of 300,000 won. Heung-soo gets up to go save him (aw) and Nam-soon lets him go alone. What?

Yi-kyung must’ve been the one to call, and he’s surprised that both Heung-soo and Ji-hoon show up. They don’t know what to do, but Heung-soo says they have to get Jung-ho out of there first, and deal with the debt problem after the fact.

Nam-soon goes to school and opens up his locker. He takes out a piggybank, which seems odd for him. Oh, written on the side is: “Tardy fees. Don’t touch!” Ruh-roh.

Jung-ho is getting the crap beat out of him when the three boys charge in. He looks grateful, especially when Heung-soo stands up to the leader and prepares to take a beating for the “interest” on the loan.

But then Nam-soon arrives screaming, “OH JUNG-HO!” He slams the piggy down and coins spill out everywhere.

The gangster laughs, thinking it an insult, but Nam-soon corrects him—there’s over 300,000 won in that pig, so they can take it and stay the hell away. Ha. Seriously? That’s one fat tardy pig.

I do enjoy how much Jung-ho hates it every time Nam-soon does something nice. It’s extra savory.

The boys file out one by one, and Nam-soon gives the three boys three days to refill the class pig before anyone notices. Jung-ho snarls that he’ll do it himself and trudges off. Punk. Yi-kyung and Ji-hoon are far more grateful, and smile and say thanks before running after Jung-ho.

Heung-soo sneers at Nam-soon for overdoing it, and Nam-soon just smirks, “I learned it from you.” So. Much. Cuteness.

In-jae gives Se-chan her notes on the class, and says with a smile that Jung-ho wrote a poem today. She shows him her phone, and it says: “If you write one line of poetry, what does it change?”

How ironic. It’s rather poetic. She beams and Se-chan says wryly that it’s a work of art.

The next morning is In-jae’s last day, and she pauses just inside the school gates. Nam-soon walks up next to her and asks if other teachers can teach you how to write poems, and she says yes.

Nam-soon: “Can another teacher get Oh Jung-ho to write a poem?” Nice one. He adds with a bit of sauce that an adult being swayed by capricious teenagers is rather silly, and walks inside.

He stands outside the door not knowing how to proceed, and it’s Heung-soo who reminds him that he’s the class president, so isn’t he going to DO something?

Nam-soon walks in and tries to address the class, but nobody can hear him above the din. Heung-soo shouts at everyone to shut up, which does the trick, and he asks everyone if they feel differently about Teacher Jung leaving.

Ha-kyung has to whisper to him to put it to a vote, and he’s like, Oh yeah, vote! I like that he’s believably bad at this stuff. They vote, and this time almost all hands go up. Even mean girl Kyung-min’s?

In-jae finishes up her last day without knowing any of this, and starts packing up to go home early. She can’t help herself and goes to look in on Class 2.

She starts to cry as she looks at each of them, and then she locks eyes with Se-chan who sees her through the window.

At the end of class, Nam-soon gives Se-chan the petition for In-jae to stay, and so he takes it to the principal. She argues that it’s too late for that, and he’s armed with the VP to back him up. Oh ha, are you using his guilt to bolster support?

Se-chan tries to stall In-jae from leaving since the principal is still considering the matter, but she’s packing up and getting ready to walk out. One of the kids sees this and runs back to class to say that she’s still going anyway.

The class is bummed, but they assume she knows about their petition and is quitting anyway. They decide to at least send her off with a party, and turn to Nam-soon to collect some party fees.

The kids realize most of them don’t have cash on hand, so then Ha-kyung gets the bright idea to use the tardy pig. Oh noes. The boys dart glances back and forth. Crap crap crap.

Se-chan does everything he can think of to stave In-jae’s departure, and decides she can’t leave without saying goodbye to the kids. Yes, great idea! He yanks her stuff out of her hands and gets ready to drag her into Class 2, but then the principal walks in.

She says they took the kids’ petition under consideration but it’s too late to change anything. Se-chan tells her that the kids submitted it to try and stop her from leaving. At least she finally knows about that.

The principal says that they’ve already got a new teacher lined up to start, so what would a school do with three lit teachers anyway? And at that, Se-chan pipes up, “That’s not a problem. I’ll quit. Right now.”

What? Oh don’t you start too!

 
COMMENTS

People! Didn’t we already establish that you’re better together? You were the one on the crusade to make her stay! Gah. That outburst had better be followed up with a different solution, because I was fine with this plot trajectory for In-jae, but if it gets recycled for Se-chan, I’ll be really annoyed.

I’m a little disappointed in In-jae for not deciding to stick it out, though admittedly I don’t understand how someone can be both fired and quitting while still teaching (this school’s administration confuses the hell out of me). I guess she was fired but not fighting it…which I sort of forgot, given the resignation and all. I do understand her reasons for giving up, and I really like the fact that her character is going through that disillusionment phase. She’s right that no one stays the teacher they set out to be, but at this point it matters more that she figures out what kind of teacher she can be now. I trust the story will take us there eventually, no thanks to the world’s worst principal. I just would rather In-jae really quit and face not teaching, and own up to her choices to learn the lesson the hard way, than to have Se-chan try and be her white knight. It might save her job (logic be damned), but it won’t solve her existential crisis. She has to figure that out on her own.

And thank goodness Min-ki didn’t jump. I thought that it was best portrayed this way—that In-jae doesn’t save him or have some miracle cure, but that she’s there to catch him at his lowest moment, to hug him and say it’ll be okay, and to listen. What impressed me about that storyline wasn’t that they were willing to tackle suicide, but that his character was so well motivated that we felt it coming, worried for him, and understood exactly what drove him to the edge. His story feels universal that way and that’s the point, really.

He’s another character that the show has done a good job with, in peeling back his layers slowly and building his mountain of weight. He was always in the background, quietly depressed, always saying sorry, slowly suffocating under the pressure. I thought the fallout with Mom was handled in a nicely understated way too. She didn’t change overnight and become a different person, and their problems didn’t magically go away. She just saw how big the problem was, maybe for the first time ever. It certainly shouldn’t be the case that it takes something so drastic to snap her out of her denial, but I felt such relief when he smiled. It shocked me, actually, and I realized that we’ve never really seen Min-ki smile, ever.

I do admittedly miss the tension between Nam-soon and Heung-soo, and it’s a bit of a shame that the story blew its wad with the most dramatically tense stuff earlier on in the series. But I can forgive a lot when it’s followed up with some adorable bromance-mending moments. I hope Heung-soo never stops being surly about it either, because even if we know deep down he wants his bestie back, I rather enjoy how hard Nam-soon has to work for it. Dance, bro-monkey, dance!

Their new dynamic with Jung-ho helps to bring a different kind of tension into the mix, though it’s clear we’re well on the path to Jung-ho becoming a better kid, eventually. It certainly doesn’t forgive his past, but it’s kind of adorable to watch him being schooled by Nam-soon of all people, which you KNOW drives him absolutely crazy. I love it. It was the biggest surprise of all that Jung-ho cares about In-jae, and when he started acting out because he was angry she’d be leaving, it really showed his squishy underbelly. Now if we could just get you to be NICE and squishy, I’d have no other wishes. Okay, that’s a lie, but we’ve gotta start somewhere.

 
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Gosh, this show hurts, but it hurts soooo good! Is it too much to ask for though, to have just one fun peaceful episode?!

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Btw, Kim Woo-bin ftw <3

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he's been so great in this. Not that everyone else hasn't been, but...Kim Woo Bin! Even his name sounds like a cheer. I love that boy. Mad Mireu was my favorite person in White Christmas.

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I have to see that after this because ill have Kim woo bin withdrawal.

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Yay, Kim Woo Bin!!!!! <3 <3 <3 Yeah, I'm going to be suffering from major School withdrawal, at least 3/4 of which will be made up of Kim Woo Bin withdrawal. :'(

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it hurts, fun, and lot of cuteness in the same time. love it.

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Glad to see so many are hopping on the Kim Woo-bin train! I love him. :)

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YAY! thank you so much!!! we’ve been waiting for this all day.T_T

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some random comments and musings:
- SO glad minki didn't jump my goodness. that was so hard to watch T_T
- heung-soon's identical one-liners! hah, adoraaaable!XD plus the "homework" that followed afterwards, awesome!:>
- is it wrong that i laughed so hard when i saw the cap of minki's mom looking like hell?? omg, i'm terrible.:'))
- teacher jung is frustrating me too! i get why she's being like this but still, gah. no one brings out the best in those kids like you do, injae.:(
-and noooooooooooo. i swear if sechan doesn't have a back-up plan..............

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hahaha, i was thinking about heung soo 's short answers too, but this episode is just amazing!

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One more. As I fully anticipated, nobody in this drama thought to hold the forgetful teacher accountable for neglecting to lock up the storage in the first place. More to the point, the writer of this drama never sees that this is an issue.

Even when teachers hand out punishment to students in this and many others, they do not dig deep enough to make sure that the students they punish indeed deserve it. Try selling that to students in the US and see how well that works out.

This drama presents a number of questionable deeds committed by both teachers and students that really make my jaw drop.

A movie I watched last week in flight, called The Perks of Being a Wall Flower, tells a far more satisfying story of a high school boy going through a series of crises that actually do matter, with none of the emotionally manipulative (but ultimately hollow) devices that I find here.

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I think nobody chastised In-jae for forgetting to arm the lock because nobody ever thought that it mattered. The alarm sounded--that's what everybody focused on. In-jae didn't broadcast the fact that she forgot to set the alarm. So in the other characters' POVs, the "culprit" breaking in set off the alarm. For example, in Se-chan's POV, Jung-ho went in and set off the alarm, and then Nam-soon and Heung-soo found him...or something to that effect. Not chastising In-jae is actually logical, when you look at it that way, since as far as the characters know, the alarm was set, it sounded, it worked.

"Try selling that to students in the US and see how well that works out." --> True, but then, you have to take into account the cultural differences. Korean/Asian students defer more readily to superiors and authoritative figures. Everything's more strict. Sure, Class 2-2 is very outspoken, but I'm pretty sure individually, they're still more deferential. Also, personally, I think the punishments are well meted out. Heung-soo and Nam-soon got cleaning duty again because they still broke into the teachers' lounge, and they got caught.

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So then what you are saying is it's not his fault, because she left it unlocked and unattended? Um, no. Theoretically, we should be able to leave everything in the world just out in the open and - because it would be wrong to do otherwise - no one would touch anything that didn't belong to them. We have to lock things up because people do wrong. It's not that people do wrong because we don't lock things up.

Well, they DO. But you know what I mean.

Still, if they interviewed him, found out the area had been unsecured, then yes - part of the investigation would be to determine who was responsible for that and they would also be dealt with - but they would not be responsible for the wrong choice that Jung Ho made.

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Oh no, I'm not saying that at all! I was just pointing out that the reason In-jae wasn't investigated/reprimanded was because nobody really knew that the alarm was unsecured and that that was the reason Jung-ho was able to go inside undetected at first. If Jung-ho was questioned more thoroughly, then the un-armed lock would have come into play.

In-jae forgetting to arm the lock was merely a plot device to push forward the cellphone arc; it wasn't really an issue they were trying to address.

And yes, it is a bit of lazy writing, though.

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Good book, Perks of being a wall flower. I think the reason the movie is more satisfying is probably because the movie was a book first. Books have to be satisfying for many reasons and movies that were originally good books tend to be more careful about not using manipulation. Of course, all art is manipulation because we have to put characters in situations etc....but a book can't get away with them so much. A movie has teary scenes, handsome hotties, great actors, quick cutting from one scene to another. I've seen some pretty manipulative non-book-based American movies that are so manipulative they make me cringe.

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It's ironic that you cite The Perks of Being a Wallflower as an example of non-emotionally-manipulative devices, because I remember reading the book as a teenager (who'd been through a fair few of Charlie's crises) and thinking how contrived and cliche-ridden it all seemed, and how irritating the protagonist was.

The movie had some very cute actors, but I didn't like its faux-profundity any more than I did the book.

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uhhh perks for me was just another hipster movie. which crises of perks do matter anyways? maybe because you can relate to it more. but for me, minki's case was VERY relatable. in the US (perks' setting), friendship, getting along is everything. im not judging or anything but us asian kids, we go to school to go to school aka study. we actually do care about grades and so yeah, meddling parents and teacher issues do matter for us, changes in teachers would cause changes in our learning atmosphere and it could create quite a mess. students fighting over which teacher to fire and which teacher to hold onto actually does happen. maybe your high school life was all about feeling insecure and speeding over tunnels, but mine and so many other people's highschool lives involve getting bullied by gang kids and working our asses off to get into uni. sorry if our lives arent real enough to you.

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Exactly. Grades, entrance tests and college were pretty much make-or-break things for us as teenagers (I used to work a suicide help line for young people, and we always, ALWAYS got the most calls when exam season was looming - kids killing themselves over a bad result is depressingly frequent) and I remember some of the pushy study-obsessed mothers of my classmates all too well.

School 2013 actually rings truer to high school as kids in Asia know it than Perks, bless its try-hard soul, ever will. Not that it's completely true to life since it's a drama and all, but it's closer to reality in some ways than the fantasy of some socially awkward kid being accepted by the popular kids as some kind of pet and starting every thought with 'Dear Friend'.

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hahahaha bless its try hard soul. you win at life. and may i add that perks deal with the issue of one insecure teenager with dark past and his... life-changing journey in becoming a high quality hipster. school 2013 is more about the school system itself, and how different people react to its fucked-up-ness.

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I loooved this episode. Made me laugh. Made me cry.

Minki was such a star in this episode - the actor did such a good job in conveying his pain, also in the lead up to the moment on the rooftop in previous episodes.

I'm so glad Injae hugged him when she found him. He definitely needed that (heck, and as much as I hate Minki's mom, I thought she needed a hug too after Injae talked to her the next day).

So much lovely bromance in this episode. The whole ramyun poetry and the homework that came afterwards was hilarious. Totally cracked me up.

Glad the Jung-ho is slowly starting to pull himself together too.

I'm still annoyed with the rest of the class though. Right, so now they want Injae back... but right before we get them talking nasty about Minki and also accusing Sechan of leaking the essay question. I mean, they do have no trust in people that they have know for quite a while now? Have they got no brain and no judgment to see that Minki's mom is a micromanaging nightmare that makes Minki's life so painful to the point that he is driven to suicide? They SAW Minki walk out of the essay contest, so leaked question or not, he rejected that opportunity.... but Injae had to spell it out to them. And Sechan, before they were all cheering for him, now they've decided he must be the leak, based on no evidence and simply ignoring a) what he has done for them and b) what they know of him as a teacher they have had for months. Nam-soon, Heung-soo, Young-woo, Jung-ho, Yi-kyung, Ji-hoon, Ha-kyung, Kang-joo and - a little bit - the mean girl have understood that they have two awesome teachers (even if all of them wouldn't necessarily admit that), but the rest of the kids, I swear, they would turn their back on Injae (or whoever else) the next day again. All they seem to like is badmouthing someone behind their back and stirring up gossip.

I also thought the vice-principal got off way too easily. I mean, I get it, it was needed as a device for Sechan to get through to the principal, but he should have suffered the consequences of leaking information.

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Oh yeah. While I also don't understand how the administration of Korean schools works (so you are fired, but you continue teaching for a while?), I totally understand Injae not wanting to stick it out. Teaching is exhausting. And it's 100 times worse if you have an administration that doesn't 100% back you up - and this principal doesn't even back her up 1%. You get to a point that you can't just take it anymore.

Honestly, I would have walked out a long time ago (i.e. when they actually fired her, no hanging around till a replacement). Would have still reached out to the kids (supported them while not being at the school anymore), but show up every day when there is no support / trust etc. from the principal at all?

At a school I used to work, they always fired people on the last day of school precisely because they were afraid teachers would walk out of them before the year was over. It was nasty, but it was exactly that situation of parents manipulating the administration, and the admin not supporting teachers when they needed to.

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with the students, they all have their own troubles, why bother with anyone elses, is the answer you want. It a pretty commen thread in K-drama, to 'care' and help smeone not familly or close friends is pretty rare. Simple charity is even rare in Korea! It is the and sorry I not good with putting idea across, but it is the idea of the family groub first everyone outside that are strangers. So even though they class mates, i am sure if asked most would say..what we not even close why should I bother>?

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What an interestng comment on simple charity in Korea. It is apparent in the many debt/owe conversations between people (kdrama people, at least) over every little thing. And the "calling in" on debts as well is a prevalent theme-neither party forgets what is owed. Seems to be a deep rooted part of every day Korean life across age and social status. Owing a debt to another often feels ike a heavier burden than the original problem for which someone received help. So the refusal for help is strong, when, as an American viewer, I am saying in my head, "So, just take the help already if you need it." Thanks for the insight.

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I actually don't really have a problem with the class, they're behaving like normal people. They are just reacting to the info they've been given, the way teenagers tend to do. Though they might talk and speculate behind people's backs, their reactions haven't been /all that/ vicious. Though there were a couple of rude remarks, at least there was no physical bullying or even horrible verbal abuse. Also, trusting a teacher is difficult, especially when they're new. But at least they're not throwing things at them after just one rumor. (/completely traumatized/)

I found it nice how they ended up signing a petition anyway, and trying to make the teacher feel better. And they seem to be looking out for eachother, too (like the thing they did for Nam-soon when they thought Heung-soo was bullying him?). Even if they do so in a cowardly way. Oh, or the party cake thing for the teacher.

When I went to highschool, students would never have done any of that. In fact, they even chased away a poor new English teacher once. She wasn't completely incompetent, but she had trouble handling the 'rough boys' (a little like Jung-Ho) and the school ended up firing her after a couple of incidents. My class? They cheered when she got fired.

And nobody would help anyone who was getting bullied - they wouldn't even worry. Highschool was... pretty cold. This class seems warm in comparison, with lots of easy-going students, even if they're 'troublemakers'.

So in conclusion, I really don't think the class is all that bad.

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Wow. I hope you've since found the world as a warmer place than your class in high school...

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Working with teens, I find that some are unexpectedly socially astute, thoughtful, and considerate and others incredibly naive and simple-minded. I have 11 years olds who are more sophisticated in their thinking some some 17 year olds and very nice but sheltered 17 year olds who think like 9 year olds.

I wish Class 2-2 was comprised of more thoughtful kids, but it's not surprising that they are so shortsighted.

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I agree. Besides, adults are short-sighted and judge w/o all the facts and based on what they find most convenient, so I just find these kids human.

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It's true about the average class. But you have to remember....these are the kids In-jae loves and sees potential in. Is she wrong? or can we learn her love and foresight, too?

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LOL, Heung-Soo's face in the raymun picture is awesome!

Minki may still have to fight back with his mom on certain issues, but she started making herself negotiable in this episode. It was hard watching her try to hold back her tears as she attempted to send off Minki in the morning normally. I hope this means the end of Minki's silent suffering - he had many great moments today!

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I was hoping Minki's mom would start to redeem herself by bringing Jung Ssem back as their homeroom teacher. Especially since Jung Ssem helped Minki, and Minki's mom was the one who had a hand in kicking her out, if I'm not mistaken?

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I loved how Heung-soo grumbled but then didn't only pick up the bowl of ramyun but posed and grinned.

Just like any teenager taking pictures with his/her bestie.

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I knooowwwwwww! I loved that strike-a-pose moment so much, this episode just refused to stop making me squeal.

(and we have only, what, three episodes left?! I want an extension :()

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After watching yesterday episode, I was filled with worries for Minki, but once we know that Minki is okay, I watched episode 12 again along with episode 13 today with peace.

I find the connection between In Jae and Nam Soon so lovely. They have the same amount of caring, not being judgmental to everyone regardless of others' title, situation or appearance. The way he protected Young Woo, comforted Minki and even stood by Jung Ho says it all about him. I actually think that Nam Soon has the perfect personality to become a teacher. He has the caring attitude towards others, and also a sharp mind who can voice his opinion (remember the 1st and 2nd episode, when he spoke about how school can't poorly judge students based on unclear evidence, or about the late fee). So now I have one hope that Nam Soon may later on become a teacher :). Even though it's far away, or maybe it's not entirely what the show is about, I will keep my hope.

I find Jung Ho change of attitude fascinating. Under the tough cover, the kid actually has a decent heart despite his situation (drunken and abusive father, plus run-away mother). When he knows that somebody actually cares about him, he will try to at least not hurt that one. I appreciate that the show doesn't pull in some hero actions for anyone (such as let Nam Soon, Heung Soo found Jung Ho, or let them save Minki). First it has to be the choice of each person to make a change. Minki was afraid, but he thought of his mother, his huyng so that he didn't jump off that edge. Jung Ho was also afraid, but when it got through to him, he chose to come back, return the bag of cell phones and later on accept to let the gang beat him up. And these are also the choices that speak their heart :)

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You know, it's a really nice thought that Namsoon would kind of follow in Jung-saem's steps, and become a teacher, but sadly, his grades are atrocious...

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He can work hard and be a counselor to troubled kids like he or Jung Ho used to be!

I always feel In Jae should do full time counseling instead of teaching.

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I dunno, I think he'll either become a cop or some sort of bodyguard.

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I agree, he'd have to be well-versed in a certain subject, and he seems to have no interest in studying...but perhaps PE/gym?

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I have not been able to figure out what the series is trying to say about Nam Soon's academic potential.

1-He insists that Heung-So is the smart one

2-Yet he has some knowledge of poetry and is not afraid to use it when appropriate. i.e when Young -woo was being kicked out of school.

3-He didn't finish middle school, instead took a text to be admitted to high school. I assume he didn't have any prep help yet he was able to pass the exam.

4-But all we see him do in class is sleep.

So. . what is his ability/potential?

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I feel that the vice-principal and Min-ki's mom got off lightly but oh well...

Love the bromance when HS & NS helped out Jung-ho..

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Now that a lot has been resolved, like Heung Soo and Nam Soon, can we please get so love in the air. I really want someone to end up with each other like Nam Soonie and Ha Kyung. Come on writer! I know you're running out of ideas. DOO ITTT. Ahh I love Heung Soo. I, Must. Claim. Him <3

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Haha...the writer running out of ideas? Are you kidding? This is one of the most highly structured, developping dramas I have seen.

Romance in a drama is a bit like candy. It won't build muscles or bones, and too much of it will make you sick. These writers know it. I love the way they are handling it.

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apart from the bromance.. the show is getting BORING!!!

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I am surely the only one who found the bromance so boring.

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i am starting to getting tired of it too..

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I want In-Jae to be hired as a guidance counselor instead! She would be so great at it since she pretty much already is one.

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I would agree she would make an excellent school counselor, but the South Korean education system doesn't provide appointed counselors, since the schooling system is very career oriented. That job is given to the teachers. I also feel like if Jung Ssaem was a counselor she would have less influence over the students than as a teacher, since students aren't necessarily required to talk to counselors unless they get into trouble. Therefore making it difficult for those students that are troubled but don't want to talk about it unless they feel comfortable and are asked directly, which makes the homeroom teacher perfect for the job, as they know the kids best out of all the administration and adults at school.

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Does anyone realize than NamSoon's way of talking has slowly started to mirror SeChan's unique mannerism especially when talking to JungHo. It's adorable <3 (like when he's talking JungHo he has three days. The manner he says them, his intonnations, and the words he chooses are exactly like SeChan! ^^)

Haha. NamSoon and HeungSoo's relationship is actually even cuter now <3 but I wonder if we're ever going to see NamSoon's reconciliation with HeungSoo's family. His Nuna seemed really pissed (and rightly so). HeungSoo's family has to forgive NamSoon if we ever want to see them return to their former state of friendship.

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I would be curious to see that too. It looks like HS's mum died and with all that NS put HS through, and considering also they are a lower income family basically, it must've all been a huge strain in every possible way dealing with HS's injury, his soccer hopes dashed, and the moving about.

And for NS, I get the impression he'd basically live with HS and HS's family if he could.

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I don't think Heung-soo's mom died. Wasn't she buying him a winter coat in ep 12, together with this noona?

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No, I'm pretty sure the person who was buying Heungsoo a coat was his aunt/other family relative.

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Oof, that's rough then. :(

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You're absolutely right. I didn't see it before but, now that I think about it, Nam Soon is talking like Se Chan.

I've always preferred Se Chan more than In Jae. I like In Jae but she can be really frustrating to watch and also her character is one seen often in school based shows. Se Chan, on the other hand, is a more interesting and complex character. If he does leave the school, it will be interesting to see how his story back to school will unfold. He has a distant, cold manner with all the kids and isn't well loved in return. But he has done a lot of things for them. It will be nice to see the kids realize this and show that he is just as needed as In Jae is. With Se Chan's past experiences of trying to get through to troubled kids but failing at it, it would be great for him to realize that in the end he didn't fail.

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I think and it been said before, Se Chan would have been a pretty uncaring by the numbers teacher, and would not have been making more work for himself by 'helping' the students with their troubles, if not for In Jae. So it not really is one better than the other, it that the students need both. In many ways I think Se Chan would right now revert to the person he was at the start of the drama, if he loses contact with In Jae. This shows for me at how hard he working on keeping her at the school, because i think he knows this too, with her he see and feels he can really be that teacher he always wanted to be, without her he fears going back into his shell once again..falling again and not ever getting up.

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I agree that without In Jae, Se Chan would probably never haven't gotten involved they way he has and would have remained completely removed from the students' problems. In Jae was the main catalyst for his change. When I say I prefer Se Chan's story over In Jae's, I don't mean to dismiss her effect on him completely. The reality for me is that if the story only focused on In Jae's struggle, I probably wouldn't have continued watching it. Looking at their story lines individually, I prefer Se Chan's because it's just a more interesting dynamic for me. A teacher who was idealistic and tried to change students' lives but then quit when he thought he failed, now slowly being brought back to the teacher he initially wanted to be; I just really love the idea of it. This is just a personal preference of mine.

In Jae was always the more loved teacher between the two so, even when the students temporarily turned on her, you knew eventually all will be put to right and the way it was done wasn't that surprising either. Se Chan on the other hand, isn't as predictable for me. I know that everything will be okay in the end but the how of it, I can't even guess at. Se Chan was always supposed to be a temporary teacher at the school, he's always did his good deeds behind the guise of reluctance and using In Jae as an excuse. The students, at this point, don't seem to differentiate him from all the other teachers they have. All this, makes me curious as to how the students will realize that Se Chan is a teacher they do want to have around and how this will affect Se Chan.

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Whaaat....SeChan is awkward even acting! He can't get over his "cool," sarcastic, posed sentences...and some of his eye-locks are successful, but at the crucial moment (after he tells In-Jae that she is the teacher he wants to be) his stare is RIGID...absolutely unsuccessful. I like him anyway, but Jang Na Ra is sooo much better, as an actor -and- as a character.

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Wow, good observation! Come to think about it... in one of the earlier episodes, Teacher Jo commented that SeChan and NamSoon are alike. Hahaha... maybe in a few years' time, School 20xx NamSoon will be coming back as Teach. :D

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Yeah! I noticed how much he's like Se-chan during the scene when he tells Jung-ho to go to school. I don't know if Nam-soon can pull himself up by the bootstraps in enough time, but at the end I'd like to see Nam-soon as a teacher like Se-chan, except maybe a bit more empathetic, like In-jae. They've hinted during previous episodes that Se-chan was a bit of a slacker in his younger days, so maybe if the writers return to that storyline, we can see if Nam-soon has a chance. ;)

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ahahaha, I'm not alone - he really has started to sound a little bit like Se-chan, the inflections he uses when he's lecturing Jung-ho are so similar!

I love that Nam-soon and Heung-soo are now bros again, but the Unlikely Trio of them+Jung-ho just cracks me up.

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It's a gang of five now.

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which just makes it even better - it's just so surprising.

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thank you

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Thank you for recap!

I'm so glad to see that Minki didn't jump and it was Teacher and Namsoon who found him. That was a close call.
Each little stories in the drama is getting their time on air. With Minki's story with his mom going on the mend, let's hope that the teacher story will be solved too. :p

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I think that's what elevates this show beyond the usual high school drama - dropping the love lines gave them the chance to be less predictable and focus on other relationships/characters, and it's really paying off, with everyone down to the class mean girl and bullies getting their moments.

It was great even before they did that, and I still want a little romance myself, but I'm happy with there being none if the story stays as good as it has so far (Jung-ho joining Nam-soon and Heung-soo for lunch and gangster rescues, I did NOT see that one cominh)

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OMG!!! Bromance explosion!!! Another great episode.

Thanx for the recap.

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Nam-soon and Heung-soo, please, you are killing me. Smirks and smiles galore. Teehee.

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Hard to believe just a couple episodes that Namsoo and Heungsoo were yelling at each other with anger. I realized what I missed about this show the most after the last episode. What I missed the most was Namsoo's interactions with other characters besides Heungsoo. Once Heungsoo came in, for like 6 or so episodes, that's all we saw him with. I missed him interacting with Injae, Hakyung, Kangjoo, Youngwoo and just the class in general. His scene with Minki in this episode was really nice.

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I do enjoy Nam Soon and Heun Soo's interaction, but like you I miss seeing both of them interact with their classmates.

Yet when I think back on my time in high school I didn't interact with most other students, just my best friend and a few others.

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So, I'm not the only one :P

I like when Nam Soon is with Heung Soo.
No.
I like when Nam Soon is with In Jae more.
No.
I like when Nam Soon is with Se Chan more.
No.
I like when Nam Soon is with the other students more.
No.
I like every Nam Soon scene, with whoever he is. Most. :P

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Haha that bromance. Definitely up there in my all time favorites of bromances in K-drama.

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Dude, I cried So MUCH. I've cried harder in past episodes, but there were so many different moments and characters I cried for this time. I cried through literally the entire thing. Ha. But I also laughed. Haha. Auugh. Love this show.

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I'm so glad Min-ki was sensible enough to try it out with his bag first.

The body resists death, so killing oneself is actually really hard to do, and so people mess up. Sending the bag first would be one way for Min-ki's subconscious to say, "Let's reconsider for a minute. Your body would actually like to sit down here, wedged safe between the floor and the wall and wait to calm down a bit."

I watch and re-watch this show to see Kim Woo Bin as Heung Soo. Where were boys like this when I was growing up? Aarrgh, so much cuteness!

Also, Nam-soon is more appealing to me when he gets the crazy fighter gleam in his eyes. Then, he stops being flower boy and more alive. Ha-Kyung gets all thrilled too (see when he yells at Jung Ho in the last episode). ;-)

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I'm so glad Min-ki sent his bag down first instead of himself, and that he himself made the decision to step down from the roof. The poor boy has been suffocating in front of us for nearly the entire run, but to see it all culminate in this is heartbreaking - especially when you consider that it takes something this drastic to bring home to his mother just how much hes struggling.

Also, Nam-soon is more appealing to me when he gets the crazy fighter gleam in his eyes.

Oh YES. That or the exasperated look he gets whenever Se-chan catches them at something and doles out a punishment AGAIN.

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:-)

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I love how Namsoon is so much livelier now compared to the beginning of the show. And how he is now the one reaching out to Jungho, who is kind of like an old version of himself, in a sense. I really hope the 5 boys can all become buddies in the end, but I know that's not really realistic. PDnim/writers, I am trusting you! I can't believe there's only 3 more episodes left. How are they going to wrap up all of the storylines? T_T

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Yeah, I love how both Heung Soo and Nam Soon are so much livelier now, after their make up. :P

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OMG. Stop being so cute, Show!

How will I survive until next week?!

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Such a good episode! This show never ceases to surprise me. I love it so much!

I'm so glad Min-ki didn't jump, too. I'm happy that he and his mother have sort of an understanding now, too. After that beginning few minutes, I couldn't stop smiling. The cute is back in full force! I love this show and (most of) the characters.

Thanks for the recap, Girlfriday!

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Thanks for the recap.

" I’m pretty sure Heung-soo’s been polishing that one window for hours, and it looks worse than before."

I'm pretty sure too.

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aiisshh... there 4 floors in that school. May be it another floor. :D

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khamsahamnida!

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Thank you Girlfriday for the recap!!!
This episode was a tearjerker. I cried through out the entire episode and laugh at the adorable friendship between heung soo and nam soo. This show does a very good job on pealing a lot of the characters layer. As Girlfriday said it min ki character was reveal through out each episode of this show and this kind of development to his character felt real and not so much forced. I love how heung soo and nam soo are getting along together and I hoping to see more of that.
I am so glad that there is no extension because I was afraid that any additional episode to this show might ruin the fun exprience I had watching it at the end with the changes that comes with the extension.

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Love the bromance and how the shows portray the struggles through the characters and story. Btw, how could they wear unform in different ways?

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As long as they wear the required items, it's fine. Same as the high school I attended. Blouse, skirt, ribbon, ID. The school won't care how you wear it (even the uniform color or length does not matter so all the girls in our school wore different shades of tan and some had shorter skirts than others) but you've got to wear all or else the guard won't let you in.

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thank you so much for you postings. I really enjoy them. I do speak Korean and understand the drama. I must say that your recap is perfect. You do not miss the single details. If I may add, In-Ja and Se-Chan are not full time staff. They are not even part timer. They are more like temp with contact. I think it is more like "at-will" position which can be terminated at anytime.

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Just did a little googling on Daniel Choi and it turns out that he's the same age as Park Yoochun and Yoon Shiyoon to name a few and he's only a year older than Joowon and Lee Seunggi.......

I do love the dorky ajushi vibe I get from him and I hope Se Chan will get a little warmer on his students and more cute interactions with teacher In jae.

I hope the boys will grow up to have a friendship like in a gentleman's dignity...

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No way! :O
Wow, I knew he was younger than he looked, but I didn't realise he was that young.
I still think of him as the hot geeky older dude though :)

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I think of him as gay.

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LOL

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Hallelujah! Minki lived! I seriously held my breathe for the first couple of minutes into the episode. Wahh keep the bromance coming. I, for one, am not tired of it at all!

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I love every single episode so far but I think we've pretty much resolved everything. Which is why this clifffhanger doesn't feel as bad as the ones before. I wonder what are the writers holding back for the final 3 episodes?

They would need something major to create the tension for the big finale that's for sure. I'm happy with the story so far so I trust they have something good in their sleeves for us...

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well if this was a drama with love lines the next step would be for the new teacher to be either In-Ja or Se-Chan
ex or first love or something like that..lol..can not have love-lines with a triangle now can you?
Though I feel as if Se-Chan already has something planned, he has not lost all his sneaky backdealing after all, you see that with how he used the Vice Pricable

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thank you~~

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I am not bored with this drama like the others. I enjoy each episode and there is always something nice to remember in each one. A drama that has no kissing scene (yet?) and drama that has a lot of friendship to me is better than one where I will get stressed each time I watch an episode.

I still say School 2013 is one drama that compared to a food has a different taste, a nice taste that is!

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Agree!

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haha , my friend is absolutely DYING for a kiss-scene. but i prefer it this way.

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i just think that maybe in the next 3 episodes there will be no story for the boy-girl romance. i'm pretty sure. actually i'm a little bit upset because i wanna see ha-kyung and nam-soon together haha.

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The friendship lines are so strong, I don't see the boys and girls having any room for love lines. It's like the writers have shown strong friendships following traditional innocent romance patterns. The satisfaction is still there, like when the girls snuggle and say they like each other more than university, or the boys pose with ramen.

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Yes. And compared to food, it is REAL food, not just cotton candy. Romance is fine, but most dramas overdo it and push it way out of reality and proportion. This drama is full of -real- things, and the romance undertones are there, too, but in proportion. The focus is on facing reality and becoming the person you were meant to be...and on redeeming love. Those things are worth living for...

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i'm seriously going to miss this show when it ends. i've grown so attached to the characters! heung soo and namsoon are the best bromance pairing to date.

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main photo keeps me smiling. i should stop staring at it. i need to finish my exam papers. u know what? i'm a teacher.

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Awwwww, this episode by me smile and cry so much... <3 One of my favourite episodes so far - so much heart, hope and light ahead...
Can't believe this drama is ending so soon (like other people wrote) I really really hope we get a bit of romance soon!

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Every time I feel like I might be starting to sympathize with Kyung-min......WHAM. Bitchy action/comment to make me hate her again.

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So...what now? Can Injae's conflict even last one more episode? I'm a little apprehensive but more excited for what the ending arc will be. Please please let it be good.

I'm still wondering where the scenes from the ep 12 preview went. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfhwP2zUqr0

They probably just cut scenes out totally with like half a week to go before ep 12 was supposed to air and even after making the preview. Curious.

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A little trans of the scenes cut:

-NS to Kang: Can I stop being the president?
-HK to NS: Are you being angry with me now? Cos I didn't oppose Teacher Jung leaving?
-Classmate to KJ: What happened Kang Joo? Why didn't you raise your hand? I thought you liked her.
KJ: I dunno, don't ask.
-NS to Kang: Where is Teacher Jung?
Kang: Good question, but I don't know either

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They might have cut for time.

Also it looks as if they decided to not go in the NS-HK as a couple direction. It beginning to lean more HS-HK and NS-KJ

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And I thought the cafeteria scene last episode was too squeerrific, today we get a ramyun selca!! Major SQUEEE~~~and with Jungho's gang joining in the bromance I'm just weeping overwhelmingly happy tears.

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So glad Min-ki didn't jump. And Se-chan had better not leave! Principal is soooo hard-nosed. All that persevering love...oh my! That's why i love Nam Soon so much. What a noble kid! Thanks for the recap.

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Oops..forgot to add that i loved that flower quote. It so rings true. There are these odd little things that people say -- strange little metaphors like "pressure makes the diamond" or "a pearl occurs when an oyster has been wounded." Or some such thing that really can be the perfect word to save a kid...or to help a kid persevere.

I remember a kid coming to me, furious and saying he wanted to murder another kid who had done him a host of wrongs -- gangbeating, jail, court, etc. I kinda said, "You're not a button on a computer that can be switched to any channel depending on what other folks do to you. You have the power to not let anyone push your button. You have a mind and a will. No matter what jeers this guy and his guy do to you, no matter how much they gloat and triumph over you, you have the power to think of your future life and to decide if you really want to go to jail or not. Or are you a mindless computer that some stupid enemy can control?" It worked. Wasn't sure it would but it did. I know it was tough for the kid to resist the urge to go buy a gun and blow his enemy away but he kept thinking, "I'm not a button this guy can push" and he resisted the taunts. (So proud of him for that.)

The power of a good word fitly spoken said to a kid cannot be underestimated.

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Loved that flower quote too. And the fact that Minki realised it didn't just apply to him, but also to Injae - which gave him strength doubly so because he understood that everyone go through difficult times and can overcome it. Kind of like that 'It gets better' campaign....

Wow to your own real-life example!

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Heck, that spoke to me and I'm an adult!

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Ugh! I cried, and laughed, and cried again! Such a strong episode.

NS and HK are like the Harry Potters of this school, with a dash of Slytherin. They get people out of trouble by getting into more trouble. And NS totally seems to be in the middle of everything, ha.

The scene with Min-ki was so beautifully done. I love what In-jae said to him, about climbing that mountain and staying strong. GAH. Could not stop crying.

But there was so much funny, too. I loved when NS and HK were cleaning the windows and Se-chan walked back to them. Nam-soon spins around but doesn't quite make it, so he starts wiping air instead for a second.

And then Se-chan's: "Well, someone took it... Then returned it... So..." People are such terrible liars in this drama. But I was glad Jung-ho was there to witness a teacher defend him like that.

And, of course, the ramyun scene was so cute!

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HK = HS. Boy, I'm tired this morning.

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" I just would rather In-jae really quit and face not teaching, and own up to her choices to learn the lesson the hard way, than to have Se-chan try and be her white knight. " That's exactly what I thought at the end of this episode. Really... let her grow, Show.

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Agree, but I have a feeling, just like the last cliffhanger, she's going to give him a piece of her mind and it won't be pretty. Here's hoping.

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for me Se-chan not doing it to be the white knight, he doing it for himself. He 'needs' her to stay on so he can get back off his knees, where past event drove him to, needs her to show him how to be the teacher his wanted to be.

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No matter the reason why he's doing it, in my opinion, it won't be of any help for In-jae to grow as a teacher, if he leaves. She already had her "come-back" because of the children at the beginning of the drama, and if that's what's going to be repeated... I think I will be a bit disappointed.

There will surely be other cases when In-jae will be placed in the similar situation and pressure and there might not be another person who pleads her to stay and leaves instead as Se-chan. And also, I think she needs some rest to think about her teaching methods, style, aims etc. How can she come back to her old ways of teaching confidently, when her belief in it was shattered..?

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When Min-ki said the backpack was heavy my heart broke. I think he really meant that it was becoming to much for him, his life or lack of one and school, and the bag "felt heavy". His trajectory is a beacon of light for any depressed people watching this I hope. There's always someone who cares, everyone feels down, it takes strength to overcome it so don't feel ashamed for being the way you are and try to talk to someone.
Also Se-chan better not be quitting. I don't want the "teacher quitting" storyline to continue. Let's see more of the students and the principal hopefully becoming less of a shitty principal. And let In-Jae grow dammit. She needs time to quit and think. And hopefully become some sort of counselor.

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She might need to pay rent too. Plus, the kids love her: she even got through to Jung ho.

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I'm glad HS and NS are slowly making up because there are only 3 episodes left. I think I would hurt someone if they're still in their teenage angst drama stage. I'm glad that's over with and I enjoy every seconds of NS trying to adorably working his way back to his bestie's good side. GO BROMANCE GO!

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I want a ramyun bromance GIF! I'll bet ramyun CF offers are coming up aplenty. Wouldn't a sexy namja ramyun one a la Ryu Seung Ryong's be fun... :)

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i think jung teacher was fired from her job as homeroom teacher of class 2 and then she resigned 'cos the kids were idiots n she thought it was her fault.

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i was against the prod team's decision to not include a loveline but now im all for it. the show's good enough without the added sugars. love it. thanks, gf.

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I'm all emotion-ed out on the emotional and cute stuff, so can I just say how much I love In-jae's wardrobe? Especially her sweaters and those adorable collars she wears with them, they look really smart and I want to try one too.

(I also liked the symmetry of the way she and Se-chan were dressed this episode, with In-jae in a white sweater and black collar, while Se-chan was in black with a white shirt. Great visual!)

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lol and everything she wears each episode is in the shops the next day, selling like hotcakes. There a reason companies pay big money for product placement, because it quiet simply works!

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wait, really? o.O
I've always thought her fashion sense was odd.
Those sweaters are way to big and furry for my liking, and combined with a shirt it's just weird.

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yes really, remember her bob haircut in babyfaced beauty?
same deal all the salons had lines a females wanting the same haircut! Indeed as that drama was about fashion everything and i mean from a hair clip to watches and shoes the works where being sold, it pretty much the same with any popular drama

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Wow, ok. I suppose everyone has their own sense of style. Much weirder things have become "the trend".

LMAO Imagine if the "fashion" from Fashion King had become a craze in S.Korea *shudders*

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wow. Just wow. Well, I had a feeling that something was going on with "Gentleman's Dignity"'s wardrobe (there were some sort of trend shown in the internet), but now, to think what might have actually happened in Korea during the airing of it...

Well, now we know why poor heroines in k-dramas always have so many clothes.

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I really like her wardrobes too. so neat, so professional and you're right looks so smart

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lol quick question does anyone else hear the random english in the background when the students complain?

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There's a girl in the class whose only lines are one or two English words like "not fair!" It's really odd...

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LOL yeah...
have a read of this.
The girl is getting slated by EVERYONE.
She's American btw.
http://www.allkpop.com/2013/01/ccm-responds-to-criticisms-about-t-aras-danis-acting-on-school-2013

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she only 14teen isnt she? she one of the two new members to be added to TARA though why is anyone guess, though she hasnt joined offically yet. Seem as all the other members of TARA have acting expereiacne someone at the compnay thought it a great idea for her to wet her feet in this drama, even though her Korean is so bad her attackers say she can not even say hello correctly, would take that with a grain of salt mind..lol.
It really a minor thing to my mind, true she not adding anything but she not doing real damage either. As for her line..seriously...it was something written for her not an ad lib or anything. I think if she is indeed 14teen she should be given some slack and not some of the rather hurtfull comment I have read else where.

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This is especially ironic considering Hyo-young, who plays Kang-joo, is the twin sister of Hwa-young (who was the one who got bullied by the other T-ARA members).

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Eeeek. I noticed the English one-liners too (because it's loud and sounds show-off to me) but looking at the camera directly? To quote her character, "Seriously?" Hahahaha. I now vote her for worse idol actor even it's just a very, very, very minor role.

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Very overwhelming episode. Mixed emotions. Anyways, I think School's episodes are almost all tear-jerking ones.

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Ok, I'm loving everything about this drama. The relationships between students and teachers, students with each other, bromance etc, everything is just perfect.
But now can they put a teensy bit of romance in please?
What was the point of all the teasing and promise that the Nam-Soon and Ha-Kyung moments had at the beginning if they don't follow it through? I'm not asking for a full out epic romance, but just a little bit of cuteness.
And all that feistiness between Heung-Soo and Kang-Joo when he first appeared on the scene needs to lead somewhere. Nam-Soon should properly introduce them to each other.
And there's kinda been hints of an alternative pairing and some readers here seem to approve, but for the love of god NO! I hate alternative pairings. I'm a person who NEVER has 2nd lead syndrome. At least not that he should end up with the main girl. I always think the main two are best suited.
So basically, some Nam-Soon and Ha-Kyung romance is all I need. Nam-Soon and Kang-Joo would just be odd. They're like siblings.

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alguien me puede explicar esto por favor en la vistas previas muestran cosas que luego no se ven en el episodio como por ejemplo esto http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfhwP2zUqr0

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Love this episode and there was so much progression. I love how they just don't outright change the personality of the characters. They slowly hint us changes, even if the changes are just small insignificant ones.

And yes, I have notice the "couple love-line" alteration, just like everyone else. Now I'm just wondering what they're planning on doing for the last three episodes to end it with a big memorable bang!

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