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School 2013: Episode 15

Waaaaah. I almost never feel this way, but I don’t want this show to end. There’s so much warmth and goodness packed into each hour, and I just want to be with these characters till they’re old and gray. What, bromance is FOREVER, okay? Don’t you dare tell me otherwise. If I refuse to watch next Monday’s finale, will I be able to pretend it didn’t end?

 
EPISODE 15 RECAP

After the cell phone theft, Heung-soo gets hauled away by the cops as their prime suspect. Se-chan asks In-jae all the right questions, and we find out that Heung-soo has a prior record, and combined with his skipping gym class at the time the phone disappeared, it makes him look mighty guilty.

In-jae panics, not knowing what to do, and just says that Heung-soo didn’t do it. Se-chan says matter-of-factly, “Of course he didn’t,” like it’s a foregone conclusion. Aw.

He says a kid who just barely started patching things up with his best friend wouldn’t have time to let his life go sideways. “We’ll just go get him back.” Look at you, having faith in people and everything.

He adds that they should keep Heung-soo’s record a secret from the other teachers, and this time In-jae outright gapes at him, “You’ve… changed.” Ha. He adds defensively that people have been known to evolve. Clearly you don’t remember what an ass you used to be.

Nam-soon paces the hall, thinking of nothing else but Heung-soo, and asks In-jae where they’ve taken him. He looks so lost.

She promises to go get Heung-soo back and tells him to go back to class. He begs her to come with, but she reassures him that if Heung-soo didn’t do it, she’ll have him back at school in no time.

The police don’t have any evidence to charge Heung-soo with the crime, so they let him go. Whew. In-jae takes him to a coffee shop to drink something warm (I love this recurring motif with her—just warmth.) and she asks if he’s okay.

He says the moment he saw the police car this morning he figured he might be taken away. He doesn’t say it bitterly, but just like it’s the obvious conclusion to anyone, even to him.

She asks carefully about the incident on his record, and he says that it was a fight with the jjangs at a neighboring school, and he put the other kid in the hospital. In-jae wonders how it got blown up into a criminal charge, but Heung-soo says it was probably for the best: “I got my head on straight after that.”

In-jae smiles and says he’s grown up, and tells him he did a good job getting through a really hard day. She asks hopefully, “Will you be at school tomorrow?” He nods. Aww.

Yi-kyung sidles up to Jung-ho to try asking one more time where he got the money. He swears he’s not suspecting him, but is still worried he went off and did some other reckless thing. You and me both.

Jung-ho finally admits that he sold stuff he had at home, and Yi-kyung scoffs that he has nothing of value to sell. Then suddenly something dawns on him: “You sold… IT?”

Yi-kyung: “Are you crazy?! How could you?!” OMG WHAT IS IT? Nothing could be worse than the things I’m imagining right now. Jung-ho refuses to let him recover whatever it is he sold.

Se-chan announces to the class that Heung-soo was released and isn’t guilty, and gives the class one more day for the culprit to hand over the phone, because now that the police are involved, it won’t end here.

Nam-soon is still in soulless zombie mode in Heung-soo’s absence, and Se-chan has to call him to attention to get up lead the bow at the end of class. He still seems worried, especially in light of the ongoing investigation. In-jae texts him after class to say that Heung-soo is okay and that he went home, but Nam-soon doesn’t look any happier.

Yi-kyung drags Ji-hoon out of class to tell him that Jung-ho’s in trouble again—he sold IT. Ji-hoon’s eyes bug out. Yi-kyung begs him to help, wanting to keep this between them.

They head out and hit jewelry store after jewelry store, asking for the thing that Jung-ho sold. Okay, it must not be that bad, if it’s jewelry. Uh… unless it’s not his. Hm. Now I’m back to being worried.

They finally find whatever it is at a store and beg the owner to give them a week to buy it back from him. They promise that it wasn’t stolen, just that it’s something very important.

Meanwhile, Se-chan stops short when he sees Nari sitting alone in the empty classroom when school’s already out. He realizes belatedly that she wasn’t even at school that day, and sees that she’s crying… and holding two cell phones.

He takes her to the office and asks for the story, and when he promises to keep it a secret, she finally tells him about her best friend Hye-sun ignoring her when she was so upset over her grades and the fact that Se-chan told her she couldn’t go to college.

It’s kind of adorably childish that she blamed Hye-sun’s new phone for the fact that Hye-sun was snubbing her. She swears she was just going to hide it for a while, but then the thing just snowballed and it was understandably difficult to undo it.

Se-chan takes a page from the In-jae playbook and thanks her for doing the right thing and promises to keep her secret. He tells her that she will have to be punished for what she did, and lets her come up with her own punishment by tomorrow. Se-chan just texts In-jae that the phone was returned, without naming names. She sighs to realize that the culprit was someone in their class after all.

Nam-soon waits and waits for Heung-soo to come home that night. He tries to give Nam-soon the brush-off, but basically gets ordered to follow. All Nam-soon says after that is that he wants ramyun.

He leads the way… all the way back to his house. Heung-soo hovers in the doorway, wary of going inside. Nam-soon, vampires have to be invited in! Oh right, wrong drama.

He says the magic words, and Heung-soo takes a slow, careful step inside, squirming in his socks for some reason. I know it’s not actually a vampire barrier, but it does feel like a best-friend barrier that he just crossed.

Nam-soon makes a pot of ramyun, and Heung-soo just sits there, watching Nam-soon eat and wanting him to get to the point already.

Finally Nam-soon asks shakily, “How recklessly did you live?” No answer. “Why did you live recklessly?” Oh god, I can feel the tears starting to form.

Heung-soo: “Because, would there ever be another bastard like you?” Well, there go my tears.

Nam-soon wonders what he’d do with another bastard like him: “So you could beat him up?” Oh, silly. Heung-soo makes it clear: “That I could grow attached to, you bastard.” [He says literally, “stick my heart to.”]

The tears come spilling out as Nam-soon hides his face grumbling, “Idiot. After everything I’ve done to you?” Heung-soo cries too, and counters that Nam-soon has endured his own share of pain.

Heung-soo: “Have you ever once told someone that you were hurting, you pitiful bastard?” He adds, “You, me…” like there’s no difference anymore. “So Nam-soon-ah… stop being sorry.”

Waaaaaaaaah.

Then they wipe their manly tears and get back to eating their make-up ramyun without a word, as if they didn’t just spill their guts all over the table.

Heung-soo sleeps over that night, finally comfortable enough to take off his socks (or one) and Nam-soon smiles to himself before falling asleep.

In the morning they run around like headless chickens, bickering that the other didn’t wake him up and they’ll be late for school. Gah, can this be every day?

Heung-soo steals Nam-soon’s socks to wear, and then reels when he takes a whiff of his shoes, remembering that he stepped in a wet puddle of snow last night. Naturally, he blames Nam-soon.

So Nam-soon heads back into his room and takes out a shoebox hidden under his bed. He brings out a brand new pair of shoes and shoves them at Heung-soo, who complains that Nam-soon’s shoes won’t fit him.

“They’re not mine; they’re yours.” He reminds Heung-soo that he wanted this exact pair and had made Nam-soon promise to buy them for him when he got scouted to play soccer, so he wouldn’t be teased by the big city kids. Seriously, could you two be any cuter today?

Heung-soo complains that shoes from three years ago won’t fit him now, and Nam-soon nags him like a mom that they’ll stretch eventually, hurrying him out the door with reminders of Se-chan’s wrath.

In-jae returns the cell phone and asks Hye-sun about why she thought Jung-ho was the one who took it, and Hye-sun spills the beans about Nam-soon and the tardy pig. Damnit.

At the same time, the mean girls are busy gossiping about the mysterious phone’s reappearance, and Kyung-min the Instigator spreads yet ANOTHER nasty rumor—that she saw Ji-hoon in class before anyone else today. They all whisper that he must be the thief.

The real thief Nari is busy writing her apology to Se-chan with particular gratitude about keeping her secret. The bell rings and she runs to class and discards the early drafts in the library trashcan. Um, not a good idea…

Class starts and Nam-soon and Heung-soo come barreling in together. Se-chan docks points for being late, though he adds with a smile that twin tardiness must mean they’re really friends now.

In-jae calls Nam-soon out of class to ask about the tardy pig, and gives him a rather lenient two-page apology as punishment, likely because he knows it was wrong. He apologizes, and she muses that the kids must really trust him, if they covered up for him.

He says it was really because they didn’t want to cause her any grief when she had just decided to return. She asks why he saved Jung-ho of all people, and Nam-soon just says, “Because he would’ve gotten kicked out of school.”

She wonders what benefit there is in coming to school, and Nam-soon says you get meals: “If you come to school you get fed, the same exact thing as all the other kids.” She realizes that’s true, and then stops to make sure that’s not why HE comes to school. Nam-soon smiles and says no, it’s also for naps. Pfft.

Nari brings Se-chan her written apology, and decides to do extra homework every day as her punishment. Hye-sun is back to being friendly with her, though Nari clearly feels guilty about letting it blow over like that.

Jung-ho is still on trash duty, and gets nagged by the security guard that he has to unfold the recyclables to do it properly. Oh no. Sure enough, he discovers one of Nari’s written confessions.

At lunch, Jung-ho sits down at Heung-soo and Nam-soon’s table, and this time Heung-soo tells him to go sit with his own friends. But he doesn’t budge, so then Ji-hoon and Yi-kyung come sidling up to join them.

Ha, the looks on Nam-soon and Heung-soo’s faces are priceless. They’re like, What’re we, the Babysitter’s Club? They both dart up.

Ji-hoon: “What, are you ashamed of us?” Without a word, they split up and sit with their backs turned to the other boys.

Hahahahahaha. I so enjoy the lunch time politics.

The other girls tell Hye-sun that Ji-hoon stole her phone, and Nari squirms in her seat. Please do the right thing. I’m pretty sure Jung-ho will out you either way.

Ji-hoon asks In-jae to be excused from evening classes because of a new part-time job, and promises instead to come in early every day to study. He says super-proudly that he was the first in class today, and she pats him on the back like he just climbed Everest, which is just so cute. He beams, and she promises to come early to help him from now on.

Yi-kyung comes by while he’s working, and the two boys pool their money from their extra jobs, all to buy back whatever it is that Jung-ho sold.

They both ask each other why they do all this for Jung-ho, and their answers are the same—to keep him from becoming a gangster. Ji-hoon muses that it’d be awesome if the three of them could run a little store like this someday.

Ha-kyung finds out that Kang-joo won the essay competition, and she didn’t even place. In-jae asks if she’s okay, and she admits that she’s mad. She feels terrible about being so petty, but she hates that Kang-joo won and then she feels sorry about thinking that way.

In-jae figures that if she feels more sorry than anything, then it’s okay, and tries to encourage her to focus on her own performance rather than comparing herself to others. Ha-kyung knows it’s what she should do, but says it’s not that easy.

Yi-kyung and Ji-hoon present Jung-ho with IT—his mother’s ring. Aw, you guys are such good friends. But Jung-ho lashes out at them, saying that this is exactly what he didn’t want to happen—he doesn’t want to keep being indebted to them. Or you could just say thank you?

They argue that there’s no such thing between friends, but Jung-ho says he’s the only one ever incurring debt, so how are they supposed to be friends? He stalks off angrily.

It’s an ass-backwards way of saying it, but basically the boys realize that Jung-ho sold the ring in the first place so that he could be friends with them. And people say girls are complicated. Yeesh.

Ji-hoon asks Min-ki to borrow some more notes to help him study, and Min-ki sweetly tells him to borrow them any time. But then one of the mean girls sees him with the notebook and snarks that he must’ve stolen that too.

He gets defensive and confronts her in front of the whole class, and Min-ki backs up his story. But she just says it was a natural assumption, since everyone knows he stole the cell phone.

He starts getting angry, and then Jung-ho gets involved to defend him. Ha-kyung, ever the badass, pushes Jung-ho back before he does anything stupid.

The mean girl doesn’t let up with her biting accusations, and Jung-ho roars and kicks a desk in frustration, and Heung-soo jumps up to hold him back.

The desk happens to fall right on top of Ha-kyung. Crap. Heung-soo runs to her side to take her to the nurse.

Hye-sun and Nari walk in, and the air is thick with tension. The mean girl demands to know who stole the phone, if Jung-ho and his buddies are so innocent. Jung-ho hesitates, and then names Nari as the culprit.

Her best friend laughs, only to realize that it’s true, from Nari’s guilty look. She just grabs her bag and scurries out, scared of the social wrath.

Nam-soon and Kang-joo were elsewhere this whole time, and he fist-bumps her for the essay competition win. Suddenly their conversation comes to a screeching halt.

Errrrrrrrrr! Ruh-roh.

Well that’s awkward. Ha, it looks worse when they unlatch their hands awkwardly, like they just got caught doing something bad.

The girls head to the nurse, while Heung-soo tells Nam-soon about Jung-ho flying off the handle again. Oy.

The kids don’t say anything, but the teachers can sense that something’s going on. The next day they find out it’s worse than they thought: Ha-kyung’s mother is there to complain that Ha-kyung was hurt (she didn’t even know until that mean girl’s mother called her). And of course it’s Jung-ho who did the deed.

Uhmforce questions Jung-ho, who rails that they were being accused of stealing. He does seem a little bit sorry that Ha-kyung got hurt in all this, but mostly he’s defensive, as usual. At least this time it was actually an accident.

In-jae asks the mean girl what happened, and asks her to help Jung-ho out and give a statement about the facts, if it was an accident. But she just tells In-jae that she doesn’t much care.

In-jae remembers that her dream is to be a news announcer, and reminds her that she should care about other people. The girl breezes that she just wants to be an announcer because they marry well, and she wants to snag a chaebol. Excuse me while I vomit.

Se-chan sees that Nari isn’t in class again, and sends her a text. He chuckles at himself for being that kind of teacher now.

In-jae follows it up with a very cute request for him to go talk to Jung-ho, pointing to the counseling office where he’s waiting. Se-chan sighs that he’s really not good at this counseling stuff, but gets right up and goes, leaving In-jae smiling to herself.

On his way, he runs into Nari, who came when she got his text. She asks if he has a minute to talk, but because he’s on his way to see Jung-ho, he asks her to wait in the teachers’ office.

She hesitates, and then says nevermind, and heads in that direction. Something makes him stop in his tracks, and he looks back down the hall. He has a flashback to a different girl walking down the hall alone, and then sees Nari doing the same.

It gives him pause, but then he turns around to go talk to Jung-ho, since Nari promised to come right back. Jung-ho is refusing to fight expulsion because the alternative is to bring his dad to school, and he’d pretty much rather die than do that.

Se-chan knows it, and asks him to bring Dad once, and when he refuses, he just shrugs: “Okay.” Jung-ho looks surprised. Se-chan says it’s that easy for anyone else to stop caring, and if Jung-ho isn’t going to care enough to hold onto his own life, no one else will.

Se-chan returns to find that Nari never came back, and he stops by the classroom to ask Hye-sun if something happened. And that’s when he finds out that the whole class knows about Nari taking the cell phone.

He panics and starts calling her right away, and tells In-jae about the cell phone and the class finding out. She tries to reassure him, but then a text from Nari freaks him out even more: “I’m sorry, Teacher.”

Flashback to the same exact situation at his first school—a girl asks him for a moment to talk, and he tells her he’ll talk to her later. The thing she says in return: “I’m sorry, Teacher.”

He runs like crazy and stops just outside the girls’ restroom. Back to the flashback, where he’d found that girl on the ground in the bathroom, with a jumprope on the floor.

He’s about to run inside when In-jae reminds him he can’t go in there, and he stands outside while she checks. No one’s in there.

That just makes him search every single bathroom and every single stall. As he does, we get another flashback to just moments before the last one—when he’d opened a stall door and found the girl hanging there. Whoa.

He runs through the school with this crazed look in his eyes, checking every single room he can think of and growing more panicked by the second. We catch up to that first flashback that we’ve seen before—Se-chan carrying the girl out and her dying on his back.

In-jae comes running up with news…

Nari’s mother called, and she’s at home. Oh whew. The relief washes over Se-chan like a tidal wave. That sigh of overwhelming relief and gratitude just says it all. In-jae looks up at him, shocked at his reaction.

He sits down, heaving and sweating bullets. He starts to cry as he tells her: “Her name was Yoo-jin. The one who went cold on my back. She was my first student, and I killed her, that child.”

 
COMMENTS

Poor Teach. I’m just glad he finally got to tell someone. There were things about In-jae’s arc as a teacher that left a lot to be desired (in the resolution, mostly, since the development was handled well). But Se-chan’s evolution has been consistently good throughout the series—his subtle changes, his moments of begrudging care for the misfits, and his dramatic confrontation with the trauma that started it all. Inasmuch as In-jae was the catalyst for his changes every step of the way, perhaps her finest achievement is getting Se-chan to be a teacher again.

In some ways it was a heavy episode leading up to the finale—all about people’s inability to forgive themselves for the things that weigh on them. Nam-soon and Se-chan are the poster boys for this, of course, all self-flagellating tough guy guilt and savior complexes gone awry, but go figure, it’s Nam-soon’s journey that actually gives a glimmer of hope this time—he gets a second chance with Heung-soo.

It makes sense now why Se-chan was always so insistent on them mending their fences, and why he once expressed how lucky those boys were, to have a chance at righting their wrongs. It’s the one thing he doesn’t have. I hope he’ll come out of this with a sense of purpose, and maybe he’ll discover that even though he can’t save Yoo-jin, he can help Nari, and Jung-ho, and start to slowly patch that gaping hole in his heart.

I’m just glad we got some levity to balance out all the pain, because this show really does a number on my insides. When Heung-soo got hauled away I thought they might actually get separated, but thank ye drama gods it was only for an afternoon. You’d think it was ten years, from the way Nam-soon was acting. Gah, their story just gets me *right here.* I finally feel like they got their full resolution in this episode, complete with forgiveness, tears, and sleepover hijinks. And now that we got to see them truly happy together without unresolved issues, I want a whole new drama where they just get to be besties without the angst. Spinoff, anyone?

I do appreciate that romance never took center stage in this drama, and I wouldn’t want that to change, but now that the friendships are mended, more accidental run-ins with handholding and awkward looks would be a welcome breath of fresh air. Don’t be stingy, Show. You’ve only got one episode left. Bring me The Cute!

 
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Thanks!

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OMG!!! HS and HK!!

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BRING IN THE ROMANCE!!! please?!

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Agree! it maybe late but please bring in the romance!

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I know it's called bromance...but when I see NS and HS looking *like that* at each other I imagine them confessing their love (which they do in a bromance way) for each other. I could go with a spinoff only with NS and HS, hehehe.

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are we sure these 2 aren't actually shooting a melo? hihi <3

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2 episodes left! *cry

so, this drama ends without any love story? hm, alright. at least we got an amazing bromance here. but, i still hope that ha-kyung will end up with nam-soon. haha

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yeah there been some anti on the lack of a love story as such, and Jang Nara and Daniel Choi did a cute little interveiw when they where asked about it {lots hoped for more of the same from BFB} you can find it on youtube.
In regard to the more episodes, it was pretty much as I guessed, Jang Nara has a chinese drama due to start filming feb, and has CV's she has to do before that! So while she may have been able to make a one off, there no way she could find the time for three more episodes they where thinking about. Guess that the risk you take in casting as big a hallyu star as she is, still hope KBS ask her back for another drama later this year, so she go for a threesome on the Award front..:-)

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No, there's only one episode left plus one special.

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yes I know there still a week to go but that would bring us to the end of the month and she still has to fit in her CV shootings before starting her new chinese drama come feb. Plus when is she going to find the time to learn her charachter and lines for the chinese drama as well! You have to remember the chinese make thier drama before showing them, thus scripts are already done before they start shooting.

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Thanks for the recap.

This was a reality check about how hard some of the kids lives are: She wonders what benefit there is in coming to school, and Nam-soon says you get meals: “If you come to school you get fed, the same exact thing as all the other kids.” She realizes that’s true, and then stops to make sure that’s not why HE comes to school. Nam-soon smiles and says no, it’s also for naps. Pfft.

It also explains why they show up to school when all they seem to do is sleep.

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Exactly. I actually felt ashamed on a certain level when I realized this is where kids like this get to eat.

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Seems you got it way too literally haha.
I think Nam-soon meant two things. First, he actually meant there's not really a benefit in coming to school for students like Jungho. If you remember early episodes, Namsoon had some monologues like "If they ask me why i attend school all i can say is.. JUST BECAUSE", so basically he's saying the same here. Second, still, in school at least there is one "same thing" given to good or bad students without discrimination, the lunch. Some deep meaning.
And of course the nap part is just a joke. :)

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:-) aigoo,this drama!

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Yes, maybe I am taking Nam-Soon too literally but the drama speaks to the truth of some student's reality.

In the US school lunches are the only guaranteed meal for some students. It is such an issues that there are programs that send those students home with backpacks of food when school is on break just to guarantee that they will have something to eat. It called the backpack food program.

Also I'm not sure Nam-Soon was joking. His part time job seems to have taken a back burner as he worked on his relationship with Heung-Soo. Also it seems as if the coins to took to school the day the pig money was due was all the money he had. Kang-Joo had to treat him when she wanted his company and Nam-Soon was too short of funds to take Heung-Soo out for their heart to heart. He had to cook at home.

And this drama takes to school lunch seriously. When In-Jae was not coming to school, Se-Chan tried to lure her back to school by telling her what was on the lunch menu. haha.

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Just watch this part again and pay attention to the Teacher Jung's reaction after Namsoon said that. She lightly laughs and says "ah.. meal".
It's nonsense reaction for a person like Teacher Jung if Namsoon was really saying something like "We are starving poor"

Besides, just think about it logically. If they are THAT poor to the point where they have to attend school just to get free one meal, why would they waste all day in the school ? They have no particular reason to attend school anyway, then they better just quit and work at full time job, not part time after school, don't you think ?

What Namsoon said is obviously not that kind of straight meaning. Yes, Namsoon and Jungho both have family problems and obviously they seem to be poor, but it has nothing to do with what he's trying to say here. In Korean culture, "to eat" usually works only as some perfunctory dialog. When you greet someone you say "have you eaten (the lunch)?", when you say goodbye you say "let's eat dinner together next time" etc. So, Namsoon pointing out "food" for the benefit of attending school, actually means "nothing special". And that's why Teacher Jung laughs.

And i said "nap" part is joke, not the food part.

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Thanks for explaining, one of the things that I love about this site(at least the entries that I read) is that some people take the time to explain cultural differences without taking the questions or misunderstandings as a personal affront. I wonder why this understanding is so prevalent on this site.

Thanks for sharing your knowledge.

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So true. In school, they're all eating and sharing the same food. Outside of school, Namsoon is eating ramyun while Minki is getting homemade nutrient-rich soups from his mom. After graduation, Namsoon will probably continue subsisting on ramyun while some of these kids will end up in swanky restaurants biting into filet mignon.

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I'm in the middle of watching this and I'm sad that the end is near. It's been a long time since I enjoyed a good drama froms KBS. Thanks for the wonderful and fast recaps as always.

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Loved your introduction ♥

Thanks for the recap......I'm so sad that only one episode is left :(

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I ship Heung Soo and Ha Kyung SO HARD. But I also ship Ha Kyung with Nam Soon. However, I can only accept one or the other if it does not endanger the most important ship in this show: Heung Soo and Nam Soon. Hearts in my eyes! Romcom spin-off, please!!

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I like Heung-Soo and Ha-Kyung as a couple and Nam Soon and Kang-Joo.

But I agree, the true OTP is Heung Soo and Nam Soon.

Followed by In-Jae and Se Chan.

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Omg YES, hahaha. I would love for Ha-kyung to end up with one or the other, but Heung-soo/Nam-soon must be FOREVER. :P

I'd love for some more romance though. The bromance is awesome and lovely and heartbreaking, but it would be even more fantastic if there were some romantic pairings too.

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just an amazing show...wish it could go on more.

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finally a clIffhanger that doesn't leave me breathless ^^

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No kidding.

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First off, considering this show makes me edgy out of sheer love and concern for Heung-soo (others too, but lets face it, I go slack-jawed in front of him), thank you for this line: "Then they wipe their manly tears and get back to eating their make-up ramyun without a word, as if they didn’t just spill their guts all over the table."

Second, this bromance is seriously getting Gaymance. Unless this is more Korean culture that I don't get? Anyway, when Namsoon looked at the hand-lock, I couldn't tell who he was jealous of, Ha-kyung or Heung-soo? No, really, I was confused. Who's his main squeeze? Buying shoes for his bestie doesn't change that confusion for me either.

Third, what is with sleeping in clothes, rushing off in the same clothes, wearing each other's used socks, and, re, never washing? And yes, Kim Woo Bin has gorgeous feets, cos he's gorgeous all-around, but why the focus on them in the sleepovers? (Reference, nam soon sleeping over with him in some flashback, also fully dressed, and with Heung-soo rubbing his feet with a towel that he used as a pillow for Heung-soo.). Honestly, if Ha-kyung and Kang-joo knew all this, I'm pretty sure their interest in those guys would die down.

Finally, I want this show to go on to a second and third season so we can see Ha-kyung's mum's horror when she brings back either HS or NS as her boyfriend. Unless she just turns into their hag...

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wow I never thought that.. I REALLY want to see Ha Kyung's mom flip out seeing her boyfriend (HS or NS.. I can't really decide)!!!

I don't know why but I had this feeling the drama was going to do a triangle because they showed a lot of HS and HK moments. I wish they didn't even hint that.. now I'm confused because I like both with HK. I thought it was going to be Kang Joo and Heung Soo at first.

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Yeah, HS & KJ seemed to be promoted, but if both boys are so alike, wouldn't they like the same girl, and wouldn't she be torn between them?

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but it seems like heung soo knows HK likes namsoon, bc he smirked when hakyung showed concern for namsoon in the form of scolding. so maybe he's taking care of her, bc he sees her as his bestie's girl? but i think kang joo and heung soo would be much cuter together, bc she's so spunky.

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But he's actually quite soft-spoken. I get the impression he likes her too, but knows NS was there first.

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I was impressed with just how quietly he was explaining himself to In Jae and to Namsoon, later in the episode. He can be pretty imposing, so to see him be quiet, and gentle, and so EXPOSED for more than a second or two that we usually get - that was awesome.

I loved this episode the best of all of them, I think - it had everything. I was on the edge of my seat over Na Ri while Se Chan was hunting for her - I kept thinking oh wow, we all worried about Min Ki but this time it's really going to happen and it came out of nowhere - well, it didn't, I feel like the writer built to it believably but the story arc was very shallow and slow and then all of a sudden there's this CLIFF and man did it get me going...but anyway we had that, we had the immense change in Se Chan finally showing full force, we had some really fantastic scenese between the various friendships in the class - heading into the end here this show is just piling on the good.

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LMAO i remember thinking, noooo did he just seriously give him his feet towel for pillows? eeww. at first i thought they were focusing on heung soo's feet bc he plays soccer or something, but for whatever reason they kept showing his feet, i thought it was cute. notice how he kept shaking it during the ramyun scene.

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Oh I'm going to have to go back and see that! I was wondering if its a cultural thing bc if I was the editor for this, I'd so cut all the useless feet stuff.

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The attention to the foot might have been a set up for the sneaker gift.

and the pragmatist in me say "love means never having to wear a three year old sneaker that doesn't fit."

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Hahaha!

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I believed that he was trying to be kind to his friend and not show the damage that he caused or maybe he was just sensitive. HE slept with a sock on the injured foot, that is also why they drew attention to the foot when he was asleep and when he entered the apt. Maybe some residual numbness?

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He says the magic words, and Heung-soo takes a slow, careful step inside, squirming in his socks for some reason.

I wonder if they accidentally edited out a se-up/plot point.

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i think he was just squirming bc it was wet, icky and uncomfortable. they did show him being annoyed when he stepped into the puddle earlier.

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Yeah that's what I thought too. One of his shoes got wet also the sock, that's why he was squirming the moment he entered the house and even later on while sleeping he took off the wet sock.

The next morning he steals Nam Soon's socks because his were still wet...boys .... you could have dried the shoe and the socks in the nighttime....

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I thought the whole reason why he took off the sock and kept moving his foot was because that was the foot that he accidentally got into the ice earlier in the scene. So his sock was wet on that side. Thus he took it off when he slept. Makes more sense, don't you think?

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honestly guys in Korea are just this close when they're friends and no one thinks anything of it. Guys hold hands and sit on each others laps and everything there. So when people insist that there has to a be a gay-ship because guy-friends don't act like that, they're being very Western about it. HS and NS are just really close, they're all the other had growing up and were besties. They had a horrible falling out and are making up and aren't hiding their feelings for fear of "less-manliness" because that wouldn't help in their making up.

I love them to bits though. Bromance forever :'D Guy friendships portrayed properly make my heart melt. Too often do I see shows where they act like it's gay for guys to share any sort of feelings or be close and it's upsetting.

I would love for this to have multiple seasons. I was actually hoping for an extension(shocker) because there's so much story here that could've been mined. But Nara has to work so it's understandable. It was a fun ride though. '

Can't wait for next monday!

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But asking a guy for shoes? Isn't that what you ask a boyfriend?

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Can't a guy ask another guy for shoes? I have guy friends and (even my brothers too) who would definitely ask their other guy friends for shoes (Air Jordan or Nike Lebron for example) as gifts if their parents wouldn't buy them a pair. Some would even ask for a pair they like that's already been worn. You'd think that girls are the only ones into shoes but I know a few guys who are into collecting shoes they like too (a little obsessive and possessive about them too).

And gaymance? Nope. Maybe it's an Asian thing and Westerners would assume it as being gay, but for us it's normal.

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I can't imagine asking my girlfriends for shoes. But okay,if its cool with Koreans, ill accept this all as bestie stuff.

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Thank you for the clarification on how HS and NS's relationship is a culturally normal Hetero relationship.

I do not want these two to be gay (not that there is anything wrong with that... sigh) so now knowing that this is typical, common, acceptable behavior for two fast friends is delightful. and wouldn't it rock to have a close friend like this?

It looks like Asian males maybe more in touch with their feelings then say the typical American male. (this is just an extrapolation of the my limited knowledge subject to retraction at any moment!)

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Actually I think it's quite normal in the sense that I would ask my best friend for a gift jokingly whenever she does well(like when she found a job lol) so maybe shoes are the 'guy' things to ask for?

Furthermore, NS and HS are as close as brothers so not too weird to ask your brother for a gift to congratulate you on getting scouted.

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If my shoes are wet and I'm not near my other pairs of shoes of course I'll ask... And if you're referring to HS asking for shoes if he gets scouted, there's absolutely wrong with that either. People these days... why won't they take a break from jumping to conclusions and classifying people after their own standards?....

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No. that is what you would ask your best friend, male or female

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lol, then I must try this sometime. My friends will be shocked!

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Ummmmmmmmmm Korean guys are more touchy feely but I've never seen them holding hands. >>

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Watch 1N2D ;)

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best reply ever. and ya i shared a hostel with korean boys, theyre THAT touchy feely.

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Imperfect as it may be, the better term here might be brotherhood, not bromance. In Korea as well as in Japan China, it is not unusual for guys to become brothers by choice (rather than blood). If you recall in Coffee Prince, that is what Gong Yoo at one point suggested that he and Go Eun Chan become.

The term bromance suggests homoerotic bond at some level. However, whenever Javabeans or Girlfriday employed this term, I understood what they really meant and did not take it to mean anything gay.

But the living habits and sleeping habits, not to mention (lack of) personal hygiene and daily scrubbing of hair, teeth and body! What can I say? It's a cultural thing. Nobody seems to think twice about it in South Korea. People take off their shoes when entering indoors. But what they do or don't do once inside may seriously puzzle you.

M last straw is (1) people not washing hands after using toilets on screen and (2) talking on screren with wide open mouth while chewing foods. In public bathrooms throughout South Korea, you will rarely find any means to wash and dry your hands. And they dine so frequently in Korean dramas!

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Hmm, yet they're all so pretty... I have to scrub with clarisonic and daily work at my skin and hair and its nothing like these peeps.

The not washing hands is pretty darned gross. Luckily in this drama they show people at least rinsing their hands.

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They spend hundreds and thousands of dollars on their skin.

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You have to wash, though, for skin to be good. Same for teeth and hair, at least once a week for the hair.

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Or in the words of Kim Han Gah (if i remember correctly) "slather money on themselves"...

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Why the generalization? Of course they all look so pretty because they're actors. Go to Korea and like every country, there are a lot of people with skin blemishes.

One thing I noticed in watching kdramas is that they have a good lighting staff that you barely notice the imperfections of actors' skins but if you have HD and you look closely for it, the blemishes & pimples are there.

Second thing, like Japan, Korea's skin products are everywhere at a reasonable price and they actually work. I've tried some and BB creams can do wonders to make you look flawless in front of a camera.

You also don't have to spend lots of money to get perfect skin. There are lots of cheaper ways too to get rid of acne like washing your face with green tea. Plus since it's cold there and aren't as humid, pores are closed so breakouts are less likely. But come summer or once you visit a more humid and tropical climate, say hello back to your pimples!

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That's interesting advice re the green tea. And I love BB cream! I want Korean, but sadly my skin is too dark for their brands (Pakistani).

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The term Bromance is not meant to have any sexual/romantic connotation. It suggests deep affection between straight men. It is homosocial not homosexual. It was the default relationship\point of emotional attachment long before romance/affection was expected from marriage.

When bromance becomes homoerotic, it is moving away from the generally accepted definition. That is why public figures feel comfortable talking about their bro-mances in public.

It is similar to a woman talking about her girl-crush. Everyone understand that to be platonic and not sexual, where a gay-crush would be.

The term for a romantic relationship between gay men is romance.

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Is it still like that in Korea, where your main emotional attachment is to your friend, rather than your girlfriend or boyfriend?

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I don't get your line of questioning so far. If you really want to believe they are in wuv you can go ahead and do so, it's okay. I would say that they're intended as one of those really close friends/platonic soulmates by the show makers. Your interpretation doesn't have to match the show makers intentions, the world still goes around.

We are not only allowed one "main emotional attachment", you can have many.

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@Fasr, in some cultures, there's enough daily separation between men and women that one is emotionally closer to a person of the same gender than to the partner. It just comes of spending more time with that person.

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@ fasr and others.
I guess, it can be frustrating to constantly explain to some ( North Americans) that showing affection to someone of the same sex is perfectly normal and does not make you "gay" (I Feel the rotten tomatoes already) I said
"some"
Bromance, ridiculous term, although, I am certain, that everyone who uses this word does not mean a romance btween two males. If, I had to give a guess, I would say that the word was initially coined by a closet homophobic, trying their darnest to be politically correct.
Could anyone please explain to my satisfaction why public display of erotic love is acceptable, yet,any show of affection between people of the same sex is an automatic questioning of the persons' sexual preference or is labelled with ridiculous term like bromance, I am waiting for sismance or something just as ridiculous
I believe that there are some platonic friends, people whom you love, closer than some "blood relative" friends you cannot even imagine not bein part of your life, if that person is of the same sex, do they really cannot understand the need to let that person know you care, to hold or touch that person in a non-sexual manner simply because they are important to you? Can you really explain this to anyone who has practiced only being affectionate to the opposite sex?
It is a losing preposition, there is nothing you can say that will make a lasting impression. Hang in there.
Me, I will keep right on huggin, holding hand,saying hello and goodby with kisses and letting my friends know they are loved.

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What are you talking about?? In every bathroom I've been in including some incredibly seedy bars there has been soap and water? I've noticed you on here since the Gaksital days do you have some vendetta against Korea or just like spreading misinformation?

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I'm going to guess that your understanding of the Korean culture comes entirely from Korean dramas and figments of poor imagination. I'm not sure what else could make spew such crap - "In public bathrooms throughout South Korea, you will rarely find any means to wash and dry your hands.", "(lack of) personal hygiene [...] is a cultural thing"... are you talking about South Korea? Please tell me you were thinking of North.

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If you look at any of Dominique's past comments she has made several erroneous statements about Korea and shared her distaste for it which makes it all the more puzzling why she spends so much time on a Korean drama website. I've lived in Korea for the past 4 years and I can ensure you bathrooms have soap and towels regardless of whatever Dominique thinks.

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Dominique = Catfish

Caught!

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I have a friend who went to Korea and praised their public restrooms. Maybe she only visited the nicer places and maybe female restrooms are different. And from a cousin who visited Korea, she said all the college-age girls look well-kept there, as opposed to the US college student tendency to just wear sweats around (this was years ago, and many girls have since opted for leggings and skinny jeans, which present a neater look)..

lack of daily scrubbing of teeth? If we're going by kdramas, I've seen plenty of characters brush their teeth on-screen (always surprised that they don't end up choking on the toothpaste and have toothpaste dribbling down their chins). And all my korean friends close their mouths when they eat and cover their mouths if they have to say something while eating. But who knows, it can be a socioeconomic thing too.

And who hasn't skipped a shower because they're busy writing a paper or didn't wake up early enough? And there have also been recent articles saying that showering everyday strips your skin of essential oils and washing your hair everyday dries it out.

Interesting finding - more than 33% of men in the US don't wash their hands after using the bathroom. Let's dwell on that...

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I remember from my girls' high school that it was the Asian-Americans who were always well-dressed, neat, clean and elegant without fail. I always admired them. .

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I've been to SK and the public restrooms there are actually better than in some public ones in the US. What do you mean you can't wash and dry your hands? Granted some ran out of bathroom tissue, but there was always water and liquid soap available (I always bring my own tissue just in case). And there are hand dryers too!

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That was pretty general and unless you are South Korean, pretty insenitive. Even if you are SK, well.
I have been to powder rooms, bathrooms, loos etc in the west and I would say with impunity that as much people walk out without washing their hands and those who do.
"Table Manners" better known as table etiquette is a source of comedic relief in some countries.
How could you say that it is a cultural thing for SKoreans not to wash? Isn't this rather harsh.
There are so many variables why some people do certain things, we should try not to be culturally insensitive.
I am so certain that even if you did not mean to do it, You have irked someone that I wouln't even hedge my bets.
Peace.

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THe above is addressed to dominique

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Really? Sorry, but ewwwwwww!!!!!

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I love how much Jihoon has changed from his bullying days - I mean, from slapping Youngwoo around with Yikyung and playing catch in class, to crawling over to Minki and sweetly asking him for his notes and bragging to Jung-saem that he was the first to come to class? He has the enthusiasm of a little kid... but in an absolutely adorable way. It pretty much crushed me to see Eunhye accuse Jihoon of stealing the cellphone (am I the only one who thinks Jihoon has the saddest eyes EVER? they're like sad puppy dog eyes!). He's trying so friggin hard to turn over a new leaf, and it's the narrow-minded people like Eunhye who keep people like him and Jungho from wanting to change.

This drama allows so much redemption for the bad boys, but paints the smart girls as the representations of an unforgiving society. None of them have changed or developed, except for Hakyung (who doesn't really count because she wasn't a MEAN person), and we barely got a glimpse of Kyungmin's real side to feel sympathetic. I think we could really use a better balance for both types of characters, but I suppose it's too late for that to happen now.

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I have to confess tho, when they slapped Byun-ki in time with each other, that was pretty funny.

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totally agree about his sad puppy eyes. i lurrrve him.

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yeah I feel like kdramas tend to villainize females more often than males and the boys in this drama create enough drama and legal trouble to take up 90% of the teachers' time.

I think for Kyungmin - she's been struggling to catch up, not having known that she should have been working on her specs since the year before. Her previous year's homeroom teacher failed her and probably other students as well by not impressing upon the students how much is needed to get into college and she really wants to get into a top college, unlike Hakyung, who feels like she just has to. The only way to calm Kyung-min down is for her to give up on her dreams...or give her a heavy dose of valium(<--- I prefer this method)

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I love that min-ki is kind and helps him with joy.

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I cried when Heung Soo said he was essentially looking for 'another Nam Soon'.. so sweet and heartbreaking!!! Loved the cafeteria scene with the 5 and the awkward run-in.

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He certainly has a thing for bad boys!

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Why must I cry show? So many things moved me...
NS and HS crying pitiful tears over pitiful ramyun; the lengths the 3 tyrants go for each other from getting extra jobs to buy a ring to threatening blue murder to defend against false accusations; Nari and SeChan with her being happy that someone knows her face now but worried about his impression of her; but most importantly SeChan at the end!!! Those last 5 minutes had my pulse racing! When we found out Nari went home, I cried so hard with him. You get me right in the heart show! Ufff!

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heung sooooooooooo- ahhhhhhh!

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Nari's very pretty, but not too bright, eh? And she seems to have Daddy issues. Dad doesn't sound too bright either: why break a phone when you can just lock it away?

I'm not surprised at Mean Girl 2 capitalizing on her looks. I suspect that's why she's working hard: get an S uni MRS degree.

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This drama is way too emotional @____@

All it's feelings stay with me throughout the day and I can't even study properly OTL

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When Heung-Soo said : "Nam-Soon ah, stop being sorry." I was crying a river and sobbing like a baby. I thought that was the last time I would cry over this episode but then Se-Chan and Nari happened in the final minutes and I got so freakin scared and cried all over again with Se-Chan when I found out that Nari was okay.

I thought THAT was the last time I cried but then I read the recap and when I saw that screencap of Heung-Soo crying, I cried again! Exactly how many times does this show want me to cry? *Gah, and I'm planning to rewatch this episode tonite when the sub is out* *prepares tissue in advance*

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Hahaha. I found Namsoon's facial reaction to HaKyung and Heungsoo holding hands funny. But goddamn that mean girl. And them other girls gossiping and spreading rumors like they're facts. Glad us dudes rarely ever gossip.

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So he was jealous? :-) asking for the dude's perspective here.

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NS's reaction + HS awkwardly try to pull his hands from HK's. I LOL hard at this because dude, why so awkward??? Ep 15 and they finally try to give us a glimpse of romance??? Seriously show?

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It could've been worse, Nam-soon, Heung-soo could've piggybacked her. Now that would've been a challenge!

Anyway, does Namsoon even like Ha-kyung that much? It seems more her approaching him over the course of this drama.

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Maybe they were trying to appease both the bromance and romance shippers by making the scene ambiguous. So if you like the romance, you'd interpret it as Namsoon seeing his biffle with Hakyung, whom he semi-likes (again, this is in accordance with the idea that you ship them), and he gives Hakyung a meaningful glance to show he's jealous of Heungsoo and wants her in his own arms. If you like the bromance, then you'd interpret it as Namsoon being jealous of Hakyung, because he wants Heungsoo to hold him like that. (Whether that desire is bromantic-platonic or romantic is up to you.)

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I thought it was funny when after NS saw HK & HS together NS said "lets pretend nothing happened" and HS said "i already did"...it seemed like he was half thinking of the awkward moment just then haha.

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Why was Heung-soo awkward when Namsoon saw him and Hakyung with latched arms? Probably, because Namsoon will get jealous of Hakyung.

Bwahaha. Namsoon and Heungsoo pair is real!!! :)

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I haven't cried and felt touched by a show this much since a long time (maybe the last time I cried this much for a show was for 49 Days). It brings up so many good memories between us BFFs in high school and even secondary school. Really, I don't want this to end.

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I cried a good budget of tears for Heung Soo (and Nam Soon) today, even at the cute scene where they were late for school and Nam Soon took out the shoes that he bought for Heung Soo long time ago. It's just so heart-warming that our two lonely boys finally get their bestties back in their life.

"Excuse me while I vomit." - This just gets me to burst out laughing when reading your recap. About those mean girls, I find them having no manners: spreading the rumor and stating it as the truth while they have no clear evidence, accusing somebody and then not even feel sorry about what they did. Meanwhile, the other class members seem to analyze things in not more than 2 seconds and always jump to some horrible conclusion about people. Maybe they represent how many people live these days, selfish and ignorant.

I find Ha Kyung's conflict in her thought very realistic for a student. Is this too late to hope for some more scenes with Ha Kyung and Kang Joo? Of course, if there are Heung Soo and Nam Soon with them, it's the best :)

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I also thought the scene about Ha Kyung's feelings of dissatisfaction and guilt very real. Korea isn't chock full of universities like the US and there are only a few good ones for the entire population to compete over. Hearing about how students have to study at academies after school and the competitiveness, I do wonder what kind of toll that takes on social lives and friendships. It was so sad how Ha Kyung was saying how her struggle with her resentment was killing her.

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In my country, although the system to be accepted by a university is different than in S Korea, the situation for high school students is the same. In the past, my friends and I all went to academy to study/practice after school time (I remember one of my friends even had 14 sessions per week in the academy for 4 subjects). However, there were still ways for high school students to have some social/bonding time such as breakfast/lunch/dinner, study together for an exam/test, or some times we cut class together to relax :D.
I find Ha Kyung's feeling very real. On the one hand, she's jealous of Kang Joo's achievement. On the other hand, she's happy for Kang Joo and feels guilty about her jealousy. One of my high-school BFFs and I actually talked about this. I told her that the drama reminds me of how I was jealous of her easygoing and cheerful nature in high school, while she told me that she was jealous of me because she could not be determined and focused like I was and sometimes she even cried due to lower grades. We actually laughed about those things now. It's like what In Jae told Ha Kyung: "As long as part of your heart that feels sorry is larger than the jealousy part, it's okay."

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Thanks directors and producers and writers for making it up in this epsiode with every thing. I watched evey minute in this one and loved every second of it.

Yi-Kyung is one fineeeeeeee ass man. I love his face :D espically his bad boy eyes.... But not as much as I love nam soon and heung soo of course. Now that all the problems are over, the last episode should be focused on graduating, studying, planning for college, maybe a little bit of falling in love, and just learning how to lean on one another during hard times.

"We as humans cannot achieve the fullness of life by ourselves and that is why we depend on one another." One of my favorite quotes of all time.

I'm also suffering from drama-withdrawal-syndrome right now even before the drama's about to end. Ugh.... Sad week. I hope Monday never comes.

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I wonder if it's a good or bad thing that I love Yikyung so much now. I hated him at the beginning; he was such an asshole. He slapped poor Youngwoo around and when Kangjoo was chasing after Namsoon to keep him from getting beat up by the trio, he grabbed her and threw her down the stairs! But the latest episodes... he's just been so sweet about Jungho's predicaments that I can't help thinking he's adorable. I do wish the show could've done something to show him repenting for his earlier actions, though. Like maybe as a starter, apologizing to Youngwoo and Kangjoo...

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That actually would be nice. But his maturity level at this stage seems to be only that he's cool with people, really guys, who either outrank him gang-wise (talking school gang, not criminal gang) or have been his friends for ages.

He seems to like HS. I vaguely remember him getting up in defense of HS at some point in either this epi or the last one and defiinitely in the last one he took HS's arm in a very lovey way. HS shook him off which was really funny.

Arrgh, why does this show have to end? What am I going to do without HS/KWB?

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My thoughts exactly.... We'll probably have to go back to the beginning and rewatch this drama a couple more times just to satisfied our needs.

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The mean girls really annoy me. I get irritated whenever they open their mouths, mostly because I want to reach into the cyberspace just to smack them in the face. I want someone to call their asses out.

The ending made me cry. Se-chaaan. My feelings. I've loved his arc so much. They unfolded his past and his development was nice to see. Good on you show :)

Also Ji-Hoon was adorable this entire episode besides the fighting scene. I was smiling like a goof when he was so happy about being early to class and asked for notes and everything. Love to bits.

Can't wait for next week's episode! Last one ;-;
Bring on the cute dammit!

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Does Korea have a non-traditional age college option? Jihoon would be such an ideal candidate.

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I think it's the vocational school he wants.

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I think he chose vocational school because he doesn't think it's too late for college for him.

However, the way he's changing makes it so clear that he's someone who would benefit from non-traditional age college programs.

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I know, right? Show, don't end! Pleeeez, can we at least have School 2013 semester 2? The closeups of Nam Soon's and Heung Soo's faces this episode, so cute. Their eyes, lips, faces, hair - so adorable.

And the tears - big boys they DO cah-ri-yi-yi! I'm right there crying with 'em - broken hearts, hurt hearts, need-to-be-fixed-hearts, such issues of the heart, this drama! So sad to see it ending, wah!

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Damn jang nara's schedule! Maybe we can have a fast-forward?

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Oh, you bastard ! My tears-o-meter just went up like crazy for today's episode.

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My heart was melted when Heung So said "Namsoon, stop being sorry..." Oh, my God that was heart breaking!
So, when the bromance is getting stronger, I do hope they bring the romance!! As far as I love secretive attention from Ha Kyung to Nam Soon, I want more sweet scenes of them!!

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Thank you!!! Watching the each ep and then reading your recap just goes hand and hand. :) I too don't want this show to end. It could go on forever and ever.

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Finally Nam-soon asks shakily, “How recklessly did you live?” No answer. “Why did you live recklessly?” Oh god, I can feel the tears starting to form.

It's clear there is something here I am missing.

Wasn't Heung-Soo living his life recklessly during the first incarnation of his friendship with Nam-Soon. How does Nam-Soon get the authority to be surprised. When we saw Nam-Soon in his younger day he was beating the crap out of his own people--goodness knows what he did to those not in his group.

Heung-Soo beat someone up and sent him to the hospital for two weeks.

Nam-Soon beat Heung Soo and sent him to the hospital, for who knows how long.

Why does there seem to be a sense that there is a big difference in recklessness of each event.

While Heung-Soo and Nam-Soon's intentions might have been different in their respective incident, I don't really see a difference in outcome.

Can someone clarify? Explain the nuance that I am missing.

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Bad luck for HS? That's the best I can do.

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i think it's just because namsoon was always the rebel. heung soo just followed around, but he was always the "good kid" at heart. just look at him with his pullover sweater and fully buttoned uniform lol. so while they expected namsoon to do reckless things, without namsoon, heung soo was expected not to get into any trouble perhaps?

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Lol, I've been wondering about the fully buttoned uniform all series. Finally we got to see he wears a pullover under.

I think he looks extra surly all buttoned up, with his "hyung" vibes in full force haha. But then again he also looks adorable at the same time so idek.

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Yeah he's like the scariest grizzly bear you ever had an unshakeable urge to cuddle.

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You guys are so right. I really want to cuddle him.

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mmmmmm i noticed the cute pullover since the basketball scenes. haha yum. while namsoon wears a cardigan under that uniform.

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I think Namsoon said it without accusation or anything. I got the feeling his worry for Heungsoo was greatest there.

"Lived recklessly" was in the sense of living without a sense of self or consequence, aimlessly. Rather than reckless in looking for trouble.

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Also, I believe part of the surprise was that Heung Soo's past fight ended with juvie record, whereas it seems Nam Soon was never officially charged for any of his violence, not even what he did to Heung Soo.

Nam Soon appears to have even been a more vicious fighter but since no one ever filed charges against him, he didn't have the same criminal past as Heung Soo.

Nam Soo stopped fighting when he broke Heung Soo's leg but Heung Soo didn't stop until someone filed charges against him and he was put on probation as punishment.

I believe that's why Heung Soo's past is more serious than Nam Soon's past.

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I think you are right. Nam Soon may have been the the more vicious fighter but he never got charged with any crimes and he stopped fighting after he broke Heung Soo's legs.
Heung Soo tried to fill the loss of their friendship with fighting and unfortunately ended up with a juvie record.

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Aw man my heart kinda broke reading this. Heungsoo-ya!

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This was a great episode. So rich in payoff.

The love between Heungsoo and Namsoon is just beautiful. It's the sort of love you have for a sibling. Just super deep and accepting.

I'm so sick of the mean girls. Heathers do not hold a candle to these venomous vipers. Seriously, can't the school hold them responsible for spreading malicious slander? What they do is beyond gossip. Too bad that Jungho and Jihoon do not have supportive and demanding parents who'll raise a stink to make sure such slanderous behavior doesn't go unpunished. Had the mean girls been the ones slandered, their parents would have been up in arms.

These girls ought to be held accountable for stirring up trouble. They are troublemakers. Just because it's not physical doesn't make it any less violent.

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Funny. The mean girls totally reminded me of "Heathers," too.

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There ought to be a rule against this back-biting.

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gosh... this episode really TT_TT
I'm start crying during HS & Jung Teach scene at the cafe when he said that the fight, or rather the punishment straighten him up... and it went downhill from there. Why am I crying over fictional characters!!! aishhh.. This is so embarrassing~

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Woot woot! So good today. Tears.* I'm gonna miss jb/gf recaps for this show, especially. I feel like the community here has done a whole lotta bonding, and crying, and laughing, and gushing, and crying, and more crying. Heh.

School 2013 forever has a piece of my heart.

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Again, great episode! This show gets better and better every week! I can't believe there is only one episode left!

So glad Heung-soo is not going to jail. So glad he and Nam-soon are besties again, too. I haven't minded the lack of romance in this show, but now that I think about it, I wouldn't mind Heung-soo and Ha-kyung as a couple. I now that probably won't happen, but I think they'd be cute together. But if no romances bloom in this show, I won't mind it. Unless it's the teachers.

That ending had me in tears. Poor Se-chan. I hope he can move past his guilt and become an even better teacher.

I feel bad for Jung-ho, too. He sold his mom's ring. I mean, that's just so sad. I am happy his buddies bought it back. That is just the sweetest thing.

One more episode! I don't want it to end!

Thanks for the recap, Girlfriday!

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There so much more stories to tell..

I don't want to ship Ha kyung to anyone. But I want the boys to ship to Kang Joo though. As you can tell, I like Kang Joo. She should have had more story...

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Is it just me or is 2nd to last episode a bit late to be introducing/exploring SeChan's ghosts/demons?

And why do I feel like HaKyung has become more of a supporting character rather than a lead in the past 6 episodes. Rawr >[ I want more HaKyung+NamSoon scenes but there only 1 more episode left T^T

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Er, yes. It's late. I wasn't too thrilled with it, but I know others wanted the full story with details. It shows why he opened up to Nari, beyond otherwise becoming human.

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I don't know, I can see it working out fine because this show has constantly dealt with problems in a very ... succint manner, whilst insinuating that the very first step to changing our perspectives is the hardest to take and yet most significant - hence why they don't always delve into the actual long-term repercussions as much. You get these stories, and you get shifts in perspective. Ha Kyung starting to care for the teacher and something other than college, Nam Soon and Heung Soo starting to patch up, Se Chan starting to become a teacher, Se Chan starting to confront his demons and talk about it, Jung Ho starting to lose his bravado and the boys starting to get back on track. I say this is a drama of starts.

Thankfully though, I think the special episode would be filled with cute, I would've liked some heartwarming scenes but I'm just as content if they're interviewing the cast because then we get to see them gush about each other and that's pretty cool too.

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"He says super-proudly that he was the first in class today, and she pats him on the back like he just climbed Everest, which is just so cute. He beams, and she promises to come early to help him from now on."

One of my favorite moment in this episode.

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I know! It'd be good if they all do that so they can earn too.

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This was also one of my favorite moments. I just wanted to hug him and say, "good job, buddy." And then the snakes in the classroom have to poison it. Ack! Mean girls - go away.

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Thank you for the recap!

All I have to say is this show is sooooooo awesome! I haven't teared sooo much in a long time watching a drama this gooooood.
My goodness, love all the happy moments, sad parts, frustrating things and anything in between. :)

Well done indeed show. I can't believe next week will be the finale. Please don't disappoint us. ^^

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One of the unintended lessons of this drama is "if you want a true friend that will stick with you through thick and thin, join a gang or hang out the pee-wee gangsters."

Ha-Kyung and Kang-Joo are the only true friendship that we have seen outside of the gang boys and it had a blip, that they got over, but I'm not sure their friendship would survive the strum and drang that the boy-gang members have.

Also Ha-Kyung's mother is a piece of work. Forcing Kang-Joo to sign a "I will not cause trouble for your precious daughter who sliced my hand accidentally" note, and now wanting to persecute Oh Jung for accidentally hurting Ha-Kyung.

I hope the kids intervene [with Ha-Kyung's support] by threatening to bring action action against Ha-Kyung for hurting Kang-Joo. Since that would mess up Ha-kyung's S-University option, Mama might back off.

In some ways she is worse than Min Ki's mom.

I hate the way the parents with power step on the other student.

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I read her as a clever Mama Bear. To be honest, I don't see anything too wrong with what she did: it's not super-crazy and controlling, just covering all bases. But it is rude to Kang-joo. Unfortunately, CYA can be rude.

Plus, if her daughter was hurt by a known bully who has yet to redeem himself, it's only natural she was mad enough to open a case. Again, Mama Bear action.

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She will withdraw that case because she will recognise that KJ is a minor, her parents were not there and as the teachers tried to tell her that piece of paper is worth zero.
She is far from a mama bear, she is just as bad in her own way as Min ki's mother. MK mother is trying to drive her child, this one is taking advantage of someone else's child, ( the release ) and ready to do to another what someone did not do to hers and secondly, her child hurt KJ intentionally and there was blood and stitches, police record. she is a cobra no mama bear.

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It was an accident. KJ grabbed HK's shoulder, and HK shook her off but in her anger didn't realize she was holding her ruler.

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I think that Kang-Jo will come up and defend Oh Jung, remember the teacher said that even if KJ sign the paper she is a minor and her parents were not there so if she wants to sue, she can. Oh Jung's only hope is Kang-Jo

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Thanks for the recap!

I'm also glad that romance never took center stage. The thing with kdramas is that they always feel like they need to stick a romance right in there. There are just enough small, romantic/coupley moments for the audiences to be satisfied that it is likely after the drama is over, years from now, a In-jae and Se-chan romance could be reality and that Namsoon, Heung-soo, Kang-joo, and Ha-kyung will grow old together and their kids will be also be BFFs.

I wish there was an extension -at least 2 or 3 more episodes. I feel like there are still more things to tell. I'm glad they finally touched on Se-chan's story and doing it such an efficient way by roping that in with the whole Nari thing. I would like to see more of how In-jae will hone her teaching skills (we've seemed to have dropped the whole how-to-get-students-to-not-fall-asleep dilemma). We've seen Se-chan change and adopt some of In-jae's methods, and I wish we had seen In-jae adopt some of Se-chan's methods too. I want someone to give stressed-out-mean-girl a chill pill. I want privileged-delusional-mean-girl to get her comeuppance. I want to have Hakyung overcome this pressure to get into Seoul U and tell her mother to back off. I want to see these kids raise their grades and graduate to grade 12.

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"doing it such an efficient way by roping that in with the whole Nari thing"

I know, just last ep i was feeling a bit iffy about this new plot but this episode just tied everything together, even including the jungho trio and hakyung on the side. and of course, i was expecting Sechan's story to break my heart anyway but it was really nicely done. I should never doubt a good drama. or this drama anyway.

Wondering how Injae will be able to "counsel" him within one episode. Hope it involves LOTS of cute.

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I agree, I've read many people feel like Nari should have a chance to tell her story, and this has got to be one of the most efficient storytelling. I love how everything tied in together: from Nari stealing the phone, leading to the reveal about Heung Soo's probation to the boys finally reconciling and taking that last step to leaving the past in the past, to it being the change Se Chan needed to being more like In Jae (learning her name, texting students lol).. it's like she's his lamb (and I love how instead of the bad boys, he gets the academic fail because it just goes to show what Teacher Jo is saying.. regardless of their focus, they're both teachers and in that, some students will have different needs).

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So, the one thing I fixated my mind on in this recap is that LUNCH OF KOREAN STUDENTS AT SCHOOL IS FREE? Damn, so lucky. Hahaha.

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Hahahahahaha...

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Same here. I´m not sure if it´s really free in SK as they carry lunch money with them, nevetheless, I had to pay for my lunches so I´ve skipped so many meals it wasn´t healthy. And their lunches actually look more tasty than those I could get with my lunch money.

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I think Heung Soo and Kang Joo would make an interesting couple.

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I think this calls for a spin-off. Or some real life romance. HAHA

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Oh man, this is one of the very few dramas that I wish was 50 episodes! Imagine what they can do with all the characters development. Sigh.. too bad, it's going to end next week. I'm going to cry. T__T

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I agree. 50 eps would've worked here especially since they've got 2 more years of school.

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Same, I don't know how to fill this School void after this drama ends. But I'm so glad they've really kept the quality of this drama up to par, because I'm sure I can watch this 10 years from now and still feel the same tugging at my heart whenever I watch it.

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I had a feeling that Heung-soo and Nam-soon would end up like big brothers to the rest of the class, so I love these little interactions with Jung-ho and his crew!

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Something was wrong with me why I found the ramyun scene so sad and hot at the same time! LOL. Best bromance ever!

Yup, I also need a spinoff of this drama. Will the romance tops the bromance? How about a jealous HS seeing NS & HK as an item. Thanks for the great recap Girlfriday.

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Thanks!
One more to go....huwaa....dun wanna end this...uri namsoon and uri heung soo....hee...they look super duper cute when they are together...

Ahh...heung soo had stepped into the snow...that's why when hhe first step onto the house he's feet kinda cold..and that's why he sleep with one sock..

Btw...I would never have guessed that jung ho felt that way towards his friend...his heart is so complicated...he has a good heart but he dun know how to expressed it..

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HAHAHAHHAHA It's so funny that as much as we love this show, we love staple of romance in kdramas.

HAHAHHAHAH it wouldn't hurt to have a few more handholding teases hahahahahahhahaha

Absolutely LOVED this episode. Was the previous seasons as good as this one?

Since they started on the second year of high school, they can have a part 2 right? ^^ Pretty please ^^

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Why does he call her Brain Tumor? And I don't know how they will wrap all this up in one episode, but man, this has been one heck of a ride. And I loved every minute of it. I will miss seeing Kim Woo-bin every week (he was the reason I first started watching), but I guess I'll just have to rewatch the series. Gawd, Kim Woo-bin is just beautiful. He could set anyone or anything on fire with just one intense stare! And then break out into an adorable smile! So sexy!

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because in an earlier episode she used that as an excuse for being late or something, she said she had a brain tumour.

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I'd think of her as Brain Tumour after hearing that too.

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Dunno if THAT header is new. The one with Go Soo's face and the new tagline (?) of dramabeans : We make everything dirty.
Oh my.. It's soooo.. LOL. Seriously? And I can't accuse you to be 'dirty' because go soo's face. :)))

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And it's not even a rotating banner.. Wow! :D

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Thanks for the recap.
Yes... Poor teach. Glad I'm only reading the recaps & not watching the show anymore or I would be a mess once again.

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Spinoff, second season...anything to see more Bromance between Nam-soon and Heung-soo!!!

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ohmygod this show. i cannot. its so so so real i cant even. ha kyung's mom coming to school because eun hye's mom gossiped with her... so frigging familiar. maybe my high school was seungri HS in another dimension. THE SLEEPOVER KILLED ME. everything kills me. i was all pissy for the no romance plan, but heck romance when you have this much bromance and friendship. oh and i totally get you ha kyung. her dilemma about not wanting to hurt her bff but at the same time she wants to be number one. SO PAINFUL AGH. oh jung ho's friends... theyre the best friends anyone could ever ask for. this show... why so real. i wanna go back to highschool and feel all the angst again :(

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GAHH I started tearing up when Namsoon went back to being lifeless and looking so lost after Heungsoo was taken by the police. It suddenly hit me that Namsoon was just starting to enjoy life again, as compared to the Namsoon of the first few episodes.

Also, Lee Jong Seok does the regretful expression like no other. Just seeing his face like that makes me cry.

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