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You From Another Star: Episode 3

Aw, I really enjoy how the connection is building between our two leads, and how the past weaves into the present story without being fobbed off as a simple fated-lovers story. Yes, fate is described as an element in play, but it’s actually our coldly logical hero who pooh-poohs such explanations. It’s an added layer of confusion for him, in fact, since he emphatically does not believe in romantic notions, and that keeps the plot from being too much a rehash of so many dramas we’ve seen before.

SONG OF THE DAY

Vanilla Acoustic – “흔하지만 사랑얘기” (Commonplace love story) [ Download ]

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RECAP: THIRD RECORD

After dragging Song-yi out of her beauty salon confrontation with jealous rival Yura, Min-joon demands to know who the girl in Song-yi’s photo is. He’s already guessed the connection but needs the confirmation: “Who are you?”

A flashback to Joseon takes us to the aftermath of doppelganger Yi-hwa’s kidnapping. She asks him a string of questions about his identity, offering that she believes in other life forms (whether grim reapers or folk-tale creatures), and therefore he can be honest about his origins. Through it all, Min-joon just looks at her with an enigmatic smile.

Song-yi invites Min-joon home with her, wanting to take care of him in exchange for him saving her life, and leads the way.

Upon arrival, they find a crowd gathered in front of her gate as Yi-hwa’s in-law announces that the new bride hanged herself last night and will be remembered as a virtuous woman (for following her dearly departed husband). Ah, so it was her own family plotting to rid themselves of her—once she married into the family, she became one of theirs, but as she is a mere widow they literally have no use for her. Her mother-in-law directs the preparation of a coffin and orders her men to find and kill the girl before she is spotted and contradicts their lie.

Min-joon notes Yi-hwa’s stunned reaction as they overhear this exchange through the open window. Just then, the henchman looks up straight at them and Min-joon reacts swiftly, placing himself in the way to block Yi-hwa from sight. He whirls around her… and suddenly, they find themselves in the middle of a faraway field.

Yi-hwa finds her freshly dug grave and cries, “Where am I to go now?” Min-joon watches her with a mix of pity and sorrow, and she decides to return to her parental home. She thanks Min-joon for his help and turns to leave, whereupon he finally speaks: “Let’s go together. I will protect you.”

With that, we return to the present day as Song-yi shakes off his arm and reminds him that she’s Chun Song-yi. Min-joon says, more to himself, “Right, there’s no reason you’re her.” Song-yi wonders who he means, curiosity piqued, then shrugs that it’s quite possible the other woman is similar-looking because everybody gets plastic surgery to look like her. Ha.

Min-joon gets distracted by the sight of Song-yi’s glittery heels, which are the same ones from his vision of a woman teetering over a railing and falling into water. He mulls over the connection with his friend Lawyer Jang, who tosses out words like reincarnation and doppelganger, which Min-joon summarily dismisses as ridiculous. I love Lawyer Jang’s reaction: “Well, considering there are aliens…

I also love that Lawyer Jang seems to understand Min-joon better that he understands himself—at least in some regards—and prods him about whether he’ll step in. Or will he ignore it like he does everything else, hmm?

Song-yi and Se-mi stand by for shoots on their drama, and Se-mi’s in sympathetic friend mode, asking about the beauty salon incident and the man who stepped in. Song-yi identifies him as her neighbor and professor, and puffs up a little at the assumption that he was hitting on her with the “You remind me of her” line.

Two hoobae actresses stop by to say hi to Song-yi, gushing over her and totally ignoring Se-mi, who feels the slight. Surprisingly, it’s Song-yi who speaks up for her, schooling the hoobaes on their lack of manners. She warns them of dire consequences should they continue to snub Se-mi, drawing them close to assure them that the rumors of her terrible temper are true.

At S&C Group, undercover chaebol Hwi-kyung bolts up as soon as his alarm goes off at 6 p.m., marking the end of the day. His co-workers’ astonishment is hilarious, since it’s the height of impropriety for the junior employee to take off before his seniors (even if the workday is technically over), but Hwi-kyung has zero understanding of office culture and doesn’t take the hint.

His sunbae scolds him for his terrible work attitude, starting with the way he set a movie star as his desktop wallpaper. Hwi-kyung whispers that Song-yi’s his girlfriend, and his sunbae scoffs, “If Chun Song-yi’s your girlfriend, then Kim Nam-joo’s my wife!” (HA. A reference to Yoo Joon-sang’s drama You Who Rolled In Unexpectedly.) Hwi-kyung is sweet-natured enough to not take offense, and accepts the advice readily—he’ll fetch coffee, obey his elders, and change his desktop to his family as a motivational reminder.

Sunbae enjoys acting the part of office superior and struts back to his desk… where his co-workers have made a dispiriting discovery. Hwi-kyung has done as ordered and changed his desktop, and now they can see exactly who his family is. (“W-why is the chairman in the photograph? And w-why is the executive director next to him?”)

Then Hwi-kyung comes back with coffee and apologies for his thoughtlessness, promising to stay as late as his sunbaes are working. Everyone nervous-laughs that they’re done with work and ready to go home.

Scary chaebol hyung Jae-kyung takes a meeting with one of his directors regarding the recent, convenient death of a business rival (Chairman Dad admitted previously to feeling happy about it, though at least he had the awareness to know that was unseemly).

Director Hwang feels the need to investigate the matter—there are suspicious circumstances regarding the death, such as the fact that the deceased man had met someone from S&C Group the night before. Jae-kyung says that the matter can be left to the police, but doesn’t resist when Director Hwang presses. And then he asks after the director’s diabetes, which has me nervous for his future.

Sure enough, after hours that night, somebody messes with the director’s stash of insulin needles. Poor guy. It was nice knowing ya.

Min-joon is in his library thinking about Yi-hwa when his super-hearing picks up Song-yi’s cries of pain from next door. She’s been plagued by a persistent stomachache and calls her manager Bum for help, but as he’s out of town he tells her to call her mother.

Song-yi barks at him not to, then proceeds to get prettied up while moaning in pain. Can’t go to the hospital looking shabby, can she? She picks out her glittery heels muttering to herself that she has to keep up her “hospital fashion,” and heads out—and who should she run into but Min-joon, who pretends to be heading to the hospital. What a coincidence.

In the ER, Min-joon proceeds to bark orders at the first-year resident (he was a doctor in a past life), who grumbles that there are too many medical dramas on air these days, making managers think they know everything. Thus Min-joon gets wrangled into playing manager, and as Song-yi is wheeled into surgery she pleads with him to stay: “You have to be there when I wake up.” Min-joon starts to walk off anyway, but stops and takes a seat. He waits.

Once she’s out of surgery, the nurse informs Min-joon that she’ll have to expel the gas from surgery before she’s allowed release. Song-yi protests that she doesn’t fart, but Min-joon dutifully takes her for a walk around the hallways.

Song-yi asks about the woman who looks like her, asking if it was his first love. Min-joon shakes his head no, saying she’s someone he feels sorry to, and Song-yi sniffs that he probably has way more than one person like that in his life. Ha. Then she farts, though she protests ineffectually that it wasn’t hers.

A look out the window reveals that the first snowfall of the season has started, which stirs another memory for Min-joon:

Yi-hwa marvels at the first snow and tells him of the Joseon belief that on this day, all lies are forgiven. Then she musters her nerve to make a confession: “I like you. I want to grow older quickly, so that I may show you a beautiful womanly appearance.”

Min-joon doesn’t know what to do with that confession and looks dismayed—and then Yi-hwa laughs, saying that it’s a lie.

Now Song-yi looks out the window, murmuring, “The first snow…” Min-joon looks at her intently, and she continues, “…is all about fried chicken and beer. Or cow stomach and soju. Or pork skin.” LOL. She rattles off all the things she’d love to eat, accompanied by the calorie counts that make them impossible to eat, and wonders if losing an appendix reduced her body weight at all.

Min-joon tells her to go to sleep, and she starts making the excuse that it’ll look weird if her manager leaves while she’s sleeping. She visibly relaxes when he says he won’t go and climbs into bed. Min-joon takes up a newspaper and pretends to read a horoscope just to tell her that her fortune advises her to stay away from boats and be careful around water.

News gets out of Song-yi’s hospital stay, naturally, and in the morning Hwi-kyung drops by for a visit and gets denied by bodyguards. He tells them that he’s her boyfriend, but as he is the tenth supposed boyfriend to try that tactic today, they’re not having it. So he says that her manager will know him—just as Min-joon steps out playing the part. Hwi-kyung sputters in indignation to hear that this manager brought Song-yi in and stayed with her all night long, and then sputters some more when Min-joon states that the patient needs absolute rest and is not taking visitors. Hehehe.

Se-mi gives an interview, but all of the questions are about Song-yi. She asks if they have nothing to ask about her, and the reporter corrects course to ask about a boyfriend. Se-mi admits to having a decade-long crush on a guy, as we see a flashback to their youth:

In school, young Song-yi brag-complains about having so much dialogue (it would be nice to be a background actor like Se-mi, she says, because she’d have fewer lines to memorize). In walks young Hwi-kyung, who introduces himself to Song-yi as the son of the company she just shot a CF for. She’s completely unimpressed with his specs, which has Hwi-kyung at a bit of a loss, especially when she says he should thank her for raising sales for his dad’s company.

Through it all, Se-mi watches on the sidelines, unseen. She wonders now why she continued to like him despite it all, and so it’s with her usual disappointment that she sees Hwi-kyung when she arrives at the hospital. At least Se-mi’s presence finally gets him inside to visit Song-yi, and he protests over her choice to let her neighbor take her to the hospital rather than calling Hwi-kyung.

Song-yi flips through the newspaper to read her friends’ horoscopes, and realizes that there’s nothing of the sort there. She wonders why he would conjure up some fake prediction for her, just as Min-joon is congratulating himself for the disguised warning. He tells Lawyer Jang that she’s not the type to heed warnings, but at least he tried and now he’s washing his hands of it.

Lawyer Jang asks why Min-joon called him over just to tell him he’s not getting involved, and why he keeps talking about Song-yi when he insists he’s done with her. That’s proof that he’s thinking of her, he points out. Note that Min-joon changes the topic rather than address it, complaining that Lawyer Jang is talking to him a lot more familiarly than he used to, and that this modern society’s losing its focus on respecting its elders.

Just then, Min-joon’s ancient beeper rings, and Lawyer Jang wonders at it—he was the only one with that number. Except this was also the number he used when registering Song-yi to the hospital, and when he calls back he gets her on the line, wondering where to find that horoscope. She also asks for a favor, which we don’t hear, though we do hear his exasperated reply: “Did you seriously think I would do a favor like that?”

The next thing we know, Min-joon is walking into the manhwa store run by Song-yi’s frenemy Bok-ja. LOL. Bok-ja swoons over the dreamy customer’s arrival, and Min-joon reads off Song-yi’s wishlist with utmost discomfort, all hilarious titles like Neighbor Man’s Splendid Seduction and In the Middle of the Night in the Office with the Greedy Boss . (They’re all adults-only ero-mangas, ha.)

He delivers them with a look of disgust, and she tells him defensively not to disparage her books. He cites a Joseon book as his type of reading material, and then it’s his turn to get defensive when she calls him stuffy and old-fashioned. I love how it chafes his pride, though it also makes her ask how old he is exactly.

Song-yi’s mother arrives at the hospital despite Song-yi’s refusal to inform her directly, and little bro Yoon-jae happens to run into her just outside. They’ve been alerted by the documentary crew, which wants to get coverage of the family moment, though Yoon-jae refuses to play and goes in glowering. Mom, on the other hand, is happy to take center stage and get her time in front of the cameras.

For what it’s worth there seems to be genuine care between Yoon-jae and Song-yi, but it’s buried below layers of dysfunction. He’s ready to leave after seeing her for about ten seconds, while Song-yi wants to spend some time with the brother she hasn’t seen in a year. He rejects her offer of allowance cash, telling her that it’s why he left home—because he’s sick of living off her money. Ouch.

He says that money is what ruined their family, including Dad and noona. It’s a pretty harsh indictment, even if there’s truth in it, but Song-yi’s prevented from reacting because her mother bursts in with her drama queen face on, worried tears on display for the documentary crew.

Yoon-jae storms out of the room and Mom delivers her grand monologue on their family love, and finally Song-yi yells, “Just stop it!” She orders everyone out, and Mom leaves in a huff. Through it all, Min-joon watches silently, taking in Song-yi’s hurt reactions.

Song-yi’s father shows up at the hospital, but one glimpse of Yoon-jae sends him ducking out of sight. Min-joon clocks Dad’s reaction to Yoon-jae’s exit, connecting the dots.

Song-yi looks out her window at the snowfall, thinking to the old days when her father would bring her fried chicken to mark the occasion. She doesn’t, however, see her father walking away glumly, not having the nerve to actually come see her.

Time for the diabetic Director Hwang to take his insulin, and immediately thereafter he gets called up to Jae-kyung’s office. Already the swapped meds are taking effect, and the director staggers to the stairwell and takes a tumble down a flight. He reaches for his cell phone to make an emergency call—and gets it kicked out of his hands by an unseen figure.

It’s Jae-kyung who delivers the news of the director’s death to his stunned father—insulin overdose led to hypoglycemic shock. Only Episode 3 and already two murders? Who wants to take bets on Jae-kyung’s final body count?

While Song-yi preps to venture out of her hospital room (“Make me look like I just got out of bed, but sexy”), her manager Bum reports that her heels have mysteriously vanished. Min-joon was in charge of her belongings, and Song-yi wonders at his fixation with her heels, recalling his distraction with them earlier. “I didn’t take you for that kind of person,” she muses. Ha.

Min-joon, meanwhile, continues his lessons on mating by giving a lecture on human courtship, which is based in self-perpetuated fantasies of everlasting love whose sole purpose is to perpetuate the species. He advises his class not to make silly sacrifices or decisions based on such delusions.

He elicits an unintended laughs when his pager goes off in the middle of class, since who uses pagers anymore? The message is “1000,” which is a dead giveaway for Song-yi, who uses 1000 as her nickname (thousand in Korean is pronounced chun). She meets him outside and demands her shoes back, which he flatly denies knowing anything about. She huffs, “What are you planning on doing with women’s shoes?!” He barks back, “I didn’t take them!”

Cut to: Min-joon, looking at the heels in his shoe closet, hanging his head at his own behavior. Haha.

Rival actress Yura dines with Jae-kyung and complains about his kid brother dating her rival—if both couples get married, she would be Song-yi’s sister-in-law, and that would be terrible. But she’s jumping the gun, and Jae-kyung points out that he never mentioned marriage.

Yura wheedles anyway, saying that they’ve been dating a year (and that Dispatch is slacking on the job to not be all over her dating life) and should break up if he has no intention of marrying her. She’s different from his ex-wife, she promises, adding slyly that she’ll keep “everything I know” a secret. Uh-oh. Something tells me this is not a man you should be blackmailing for anything. Or, y’know, marrying, but let’s start small and work our way up.

Jae-kyung looks at her with that scary look in his eyes, though he agrees to be her date at an upcoming wedding. Why do I feel like she may not make it that far?

Song-yi prepares for the wedding too, mock-complaining that she’ll be accused of being a wedding disturbance by outshining the bride. Gotta love her vanity. The wedding is on a cruise ship, and with her shoes stolen by the alien man, Song-yi has had a backup pair rustled up to replace them, though she’s had to settle for the wrong size. Eek! Is this a case where trying to avoid the problem actually leads to the problem?

Song-yi calls Min-joon and leaves him a message, informing him that she re-bought those same shoes and will expect an apology in the future.

She runs into Yura again, this being their mutual salon, and Yura snipes at her to stay away from the wedding and out of her sight. Song-yi has no intention of skipping out, and tells Yura that if she’s so afraid of getting upstaged by Song-yi, she should just have more confidence in herself. Oh, and also—that movie Yura was dying to do? The offer came to Song-yi.

Yura screams in frustration, spitting that one of them is gonna die. Oh, I wouldn’t want to take that bet, honey.

Min-joon checks his voicemail, just as he sees a news report on TV about the big celebrity wedding. And there Song-yi is, arriving to take that cruise, wearing those heels.

 
EPILOGUE

Min-joon interviews, “Why don’t I believe in love?”

Song-yi interviews, “Of course I totally believe in it!”

He explains seeing instances where lovers would fall into a love that transcended class, like the lady of the house running off with the servant, only to have that love fizzle in a few years. Song-yi talks dreamily of the grand proposal she wants, with serenade and on bended knee—an idea Min-joon calls immature.

“You do it on purpose knowing it’s immature,” Song-yi says. “Love can’t conquer time,” Min-joon counters.

“A love that conquers all,” Song-yi says, “I think I’ll meet him soon. And then I’ll go—it’s about time I married.”

 
COMMENTS

I’m loving Song-yi more and more, monstrous ego and all, which is nicely played alongside her loneliness and family abandonment issues. I’m sure I’d find it hilarious if she were a shallow brat even without her hidden fuzzy side, but having that dimension there adds to the appeal. It also keeps me curious to know how the two girls relate to each other, because I don’t quite think Song-yi is a mere reincarnation of Yi-hwa. Perhaps Song-yi had it in her to be as sweet and thoughtful as her Joseon counterpart, but we’ve seen enough of Song-yi’s youth to suppose that her hilarious ego was always a part of her. I’m willing to believe that the obnoxious part was cultivated, but Song-yi never had a problem with underestimating her worth, that’s for sure.

I do like seeing that she’s still capable of being a decent human being, though, at least in matters that count. Like her sticking up for Se-mi. That one gesture doesn’t negate the fact that she may be a deficient friend in other respects, but I do think she cares for both Se-mi and Hwi-kyung, in her own way. That makes me want to see this friendship flourish despite hints that it may not, because wouldn’t that be a nicely unexpected turn? I can see where a Se-mi backstabbing could make for good drama so I’m fine with it going there; I just don’t want her to turn into another Yura. Because as we can see, the world is packed with Yuras, just waiting to tear Song-yi down. It would be nice if Se-mi came out of it with her soul intact.

Song-yi’s also trying to be a good sister to Yoon-jae, which is why it stings to have him reject her so thoroughly. I don’t doubt that he’s right about money being the cause of their family’s decline, though I think to be more accurate you could say it’s Mom’s love of money. But as dysfunctional as they are, Song-yi’s only way of relating to her family is, thus, money. So round and round the cycle goes, of her throwing money at the problems and hoping for a different result each time, only to be crushed every time Mom sucks her dry and asks for more.

I’m a little skeptical about the murderous chaebol brother storyline, in that it actually feels a little broad for this drama. Which I know is hilarious given that we’re talking about a drama about a 400-year-old alien, but really, the Min-joon characterization has actually been lovely and grounded in human emotion. But the chaebol killer is just over-the-top enough for me to find it funny (whether or not that is its intention), and I find myself thinking back to Tae-mu, the world’s most inept attempted murderer in Rooftop Prince. I could take him as comic relief. Not that we need it, since there’s plenty of comedy keeping the show afloat already.

I do find Min-joon’s alien status tinged with unexpected poignancy, especially when we consider that it sounded like joke fodder and little else. I also expected him to have harbored some kind of love for Yi-hwa, which is why I find it more interesting to see that it’s not quite that simple—it’s not like thwarted lovers in one lifetime getting a second chance in another one. While I do believe Yi-hwa meant her confession, his feelings are murkier; maybe it’s that he feels he has unfinished business with this connection, rather than anything as specific as romance.

And while Min-joon isn’t human, his experience of walking among the humans offers a poignant look into what exactly constitutes being human (his scientific birds-and-bees mating lectures are a nice touch), inasmuch as he lives as one. Is it biology or emotion that plays a bigger role, science or experience?

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I'm loving the leads more and more every episode. <3 Thanks for the recap and Merry Christmas! :)

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Please Javabeans or anyone else , what is the track's name , when Min Joon takes Yi Hwa and travels to a spacious field where they find her grave , at the start of the episode ???

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Sorry to reply here , but i am dying to find an answer to my question . Please Javabeans or anyone else , what is the track's name , when Min Joon takes Yi Hwa and travels to a spacious field where they find her grave , at the start of the episode ???

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Its so Awesome!!

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I really liked this episode. It kept me on my toes, and I can’t wait for tomorrow’s episode, because I want to see how she will be saved by MJ. I have a feeling that he will do what he did with the doppeldanger in the Joseon time, shielding her with his outfit (his sleeve), which transported them to another place. That was really cool.

1--I loved how the boss fell down three time, when he found out who LHK was. That was funny.

2—I love the drama in this drama, SY’s mom, the way SY always cares and is concerned about how she looks, her mom, her brother, and her dad. I am glad that MJ was there to see that. He gets to know better, whether he likes it or not.

I have a few questions:

1—When he shielded her (MJ), did he take her somewhere else in the process (like right away)?

2—The guy who plays the boss (Yu Jun-Sang) of Lee Whi-Kyung (Park Hae-Jin’s character), was he in “My Husband’s got a family?” Viki mentioned that Kim Nam Joo was his co-star, and I was just wondering.

3—Thinking about going to Finland the country? (I guess so).

4—“This is why we are not supposed to take care of black-headed animals.” Can someone please explain? I can tell it is a figure of speech.

5—Did the actress just black mailed him into getting married (Lee Jae-Kyung)?.It not only seemed that way. It also looked like he might not do it, and maybe he might kill her at some point, like he killed the old man.

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Also, thank you so much for the recap. Merry Christmas, to those who celebrate it, and Happy New Year as well! "Happy Holidays!" to those who do not celebrate Christmas.

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In my commentary, I meant to say, "doppelganger," instead of "doppeldanger." Sorry...

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I haven't watched, but lemme guess:

1) I suppose aliens in this dramaverse can teleport?

2) Yep, Yoon Joon Sang was Kim Nam Joo's "husband" in "My Husband's Got A Family".

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Hi kooriyuki,
yes, safe to assume that in this dramaverse, aliens can teleport. We have seen MJ do that in the Joseon time, and he did that 12 years ago (though the distance was not as long) when he saved young SY. I am looking forward to how he will do it in ep. 4 (which I am assuming he will do), though I don't think it will be anything really new. And we know that he can also freeze/stop time if he wants/needs to.
2) Thank you also, for answering question 2 :-)

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4. It's like the saying in which a dog bites the hand of that who feeds it ^^

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Thank you Elizabeth, for explaining.

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I'm not sure but from the first time we met Evil Hyung, is there a woman trapped somewhere waiting to be let out?

I loved the boss falling also. Fiance is so sweetly ditzy. Totally clueless to the fact that he's been found out.

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Hello Carole McDonnell,

You are right! The first time we meet Evil Hyung (when he is talking to his brother), he talks to a woman on the phone and he threatens her). I think he tells her to consider herself to be lucky to be alive, however, I am not sure whether he has her killed or not. JB mentioned in ep. 4 recap that Evil Hyung seems to kill one person per episode (or she alluded to that), so maybe he had her killed too. Hopefully the show will do a good job of letting us how many people Evil Hyung had killed in the end.

The boss falling was hilarious, I replayed that scene many times, I found it to be so well acted. It was dramatically acted, and I loved it. Great physical comedy. I also loved that it was after the boss was so proud of the lecture he gave HK, it added to the comical effect.

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Ivoire,
A 'Black-headed animal', is a derogatory way of saying 'a human' in Asia, in that we belong to the animal (not plant) family, and Asian hair is black, therefore, black-headed.

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Hi KDaddict,
And thank you for explaining. That is an interesting expression, which once explained (and given the context), actually makes sense.

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Kyaaa!! I've been refreshing this site like crazy. Already saw the episode. Now to complement it with javabeans insights.

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HE CARES?! OMG the horoscope thing! Haha he was so proud that he thought of a way to warn her haha

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He was so proud, he even called Lawyer Jang out to gloat. Made it even more hilarious when Lawyer Jang burst his bubble.

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I love his stone-faced expression coupled with his intense burning desire to intervene in her life! Such a juxtaposition of opposites. Fire wrapped in ice, and KSH is selling it.

But I don't get why he asked her: "Who are YOU?" after he had seen the photo of her as a young teenager. Wouldn't the Qn is more like: "Who is THAT girl in the photo? Is that you?"

I do get why he loved that girl he met right after he landed in Joseon. She was quite different and interesting for sb at that age, from that time. She even confessed. I also love her confession, of wanting to grow up fast in order to show him her pretty self. Something tragic must have happened to her, causing him to stay up reading in his library at night for 400 years!!! Poor chap. By comparision, the actress comes across as sb shallow and crass, due to the requirements put upon her by her work.

Looking fwd to tonight's ep when he saves her from drowning at the yacht party, despite himself, more or less.

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"fire wrapped in ice" what a great description! Loved it. Thanks for that. First time I ever heard it.

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Déjà Vu

Chun Song Yi/Cheon Song-Yi's glittery high-heeled shoes remind me of Dorothy Gale's famous Red Ruby slippers in the Wizard of Oz - 1939 movie version.

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To those celebrating the holiday - Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas :)

Merry Christmas, Season's Greetings, & Happy Holidays!

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Some more Korean Pop Culture & Meta References in You From Another Star:

"Song-yi prepares for the wedding too, mock-complaining that she’ll be accused of being a wedding disturbance by outshining the bride."---Javabeans

Kim Tae Hee was labeled a “nuisance guest” after her appearance at Lee Byung Hun and Lee Min Jung’s August wedding. “Nuisance guest” was the term used by news reporters because they thought Kim Tae Hee was so beautiful that she stole the spotlight from Lee Min Jung at her wedding!

Jeguk Group in Heirs and here Jeguk was mentioned as an entertainment agency scouting Chun Song Yi/Cheon Song-Yi.

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I think both Jeguk and Phantom were made-up names, but there is a real Korean entertainment company called Star Jeguk or Star Empire, which Im Si Wan and Park Hyung Sik are under.

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When I heard Jeguk in this episode, I thought about Jeguk Group from the kdrama Heirs as well.

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I love it when kdrama characters share worlds with dramas from other characters or when they seem to know of each other. Like when some sajeuk character mentions Iljimae or vice versa. Makes me feel I've finally watched enough kdramas to get all the sly winks.

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It's nice when you get the inside comment or joke, I don't like it however when it goes over my head. Makes me feel like I have missed something :-(

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while i liked the first two episodes, i think this is really the defining episode that drew me in. song-yi is just such a great character -- a touch of crazy, but still manages to be amazingly vulnerable during scenes concerning her family (also what a bamf at the se-mi scene).

it's also hilarious watching min-joon entertain her ego and such, but it's also really nice to see song-yi have someone in herself that she can be the chicken eating beer drinking self.

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My first Kim Soo Hyun drama that I like! I think I'm going to see it to the end. His chemistry with Jun Ji Hyun is amazing. I can't tell their age differences.

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You didn't like him in Giant? That was an epic show.

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Giant wasn't a big part for him, the drama was epic one of my top five best drama ever. Giant was not the brokeout drama for Kim Soo Hyun , I think it was the drama"Moon Embraces The Sun which I never watched.... The funny thing is the younger brother in Giant career missle to stardom after Giant but then he also played Kim Soo Hyun younger self in Moon embraces the Sun.

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I know it wasn't a big role but one could see his potential there and that was the last time he got to play a child/teen. Yeo Jin Goo on the other hand is a star from the get go imo (debut in Sad Movie 2005) and the only thing standing between him and lead roles is his age.

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Yoon-jae (Song-yi’s younger brother) is CUTE! He looks a bit like Kang Dong-won and Kim Woo-bin combined.

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Model Ahn Jae Hyun. The first time I've ever seen him was in K.Will's MV "Please Don't" with Seo In Guk. (Great MV. I recommend it.) Then I saw him in "High Society" as the Delivery Guy with all the female celebrities fawning over his good looks.

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No wonder why he looked so familiar. He's Seo In Guk's boyfriend. Haha. He looks different here.

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I'm just gonna read this and watch it later because I'm exciteeed and the damn net is not helping me >.<

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@javabeans
Typo at the beginning - it's Yi-haw, not Song-yi here: Song-yi invites Min-joon home with her, wanting to take care of him in exchange for him saving her life, and leads the way.

This show gets better with each episode as it reveals more of our characters' backstory and the plot. I love the breathtaking cinematography and the witty dialogue that pokes fun at popular culture and references the past. I laughed when the doctor said there are too many medical dramas and when Min-joon uses his beeper. Good stuff.

I'm really curious about Jae-kyung and why he's so devilishly cold in his killings and how that could or will affect our couple.

And I can't say this enough but KSH and JJH are absolutely gorgeous and kicking butt with their roles and chemistry. Love them.

Thanks @javabeans for taking time and recapping this on Christmas. Hope you and everyone had a great day! Happy Christmas :)

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Boo autocorrect. Yi-hwa not Yi-haw.

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Yep, cos that would make it "Cowboys & Aliens"! :D

(sorry, couldn't resist a bad joke)

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I was never reminded of I Hear Your Voice based on the noona romance -- purely because Song Yi is a child when she first meets Min Joon in the Joseon times. However, if Jang Hye Sung was the best female character of 2013, then Cheon Song Yi is the best female character of 2014. Both strong, independent, take-no-shit women. I love Song Yi even more for sticking up for Se Mi and for that, I sincerely wish Se Mi will not turn bad. Then when Min Joon said, “I’ll protect you,” it gave me flashbacks to Little Su Ha.

I adore how not only did Hwi Kyung not talk back and arrogantly snap, “Do you know who I am!?” but he heeded his sunbae’s advice and even apologized for not staying until everyone was finished with work. He is so harmlessly naive and devoted to Song Yi, it’s going to tear him up when he discovers Hyung is the devil. Poor Director Hwang didn’t deserve to die. Then again, after seeing him with Yura, I’m glad Jae Kyung is a murderer.

Adding onto the list of people I hate, I hate Song Yi’s mother. Why is Mom even allowed to renegotiate her contract when Song Yi is no longer a minor? I think Yoon Jae is just looking out for his noona. If she doesn’t send money home, then their good-for-nothing mother won’t get her money. At this point, I hope Mom doesn’t get a redemption arc.

I laughed at Yoo Joon Sang’s inside joke, “If your girlfriend is Cheon Song Yi, then my wife is Kim Nam Joo!”

Thanks for the recap, javabeans!

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Hwi Kyung is definitely single minded. I too am worried how he will react to his brother secret life. How and why he became a murderer when he wanted to be a vet and not run the company should be interesting. I wonder if his ex wife is dead or hiding.

I'm also confused on how her mom could sign a contract when she is definitely an adult.

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Eeee, this episode was the best so far. I thought the previous 2 episodes tried to play the scenes funnier than they actually were, but this episode actually hit the rom-com scenes hilariously and aptly. I was able to get a lot more invested in the Joseon part of the story too, which was shot well.

Song-yi's vanity was great as usual; "It'll scar... but I have to wear a bikini!" And lol @ hospital fashion.

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LHK's hyung is the one behaving like an alien (sort of) with all the killings and mysterious aura about him.

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oooooooooooooooh! Wow! Good thought, majorly good insight! Thanks!

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That thought actually crossed my mind while watching his scenes. *hmm what if he was actually a shape shifting alien*.....far fetched I know, but it was an intresting thought.

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Mysterious yes, murdering people in cold blood is an alien behavior? That's unfair since our alien doesn't go around killing people.

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If he was an alien gone rogue.. it's plausible imo. I just thought that if DMJ was left behind by his spaceship.. who's to say that he was the only one? DMJ adapted a detached outlook when it comes to dealing with earthlings after experiencing the consequences of having meddled on their affairs---so what if JK actually had a bad experience with humans throughout his stay in the early times and learned that he needs to be in a position of power in order to not experience the same again. @kittycat That shape-shifting thing is a good point...MJ has a number superpowers so who's to say other aliens don't have it, right?

JK just looks so suspicious that I can't help but feel that there's something immensely wrong about him as a whole. Added to that, his dad hasn't been depicted with an ounce of evilry that we see in JK, and while LHK is arrogant I don't think he's evil. Soooo... it's either JK's just a bad seed or he's a shape-shifter who killed the original JK (and I read somewhere that their eldest brother died too, right?) and took over his life.

Sounds far-fetched but it's actually kinda fun figuring things out again--brings back Arang days. XD

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Interesting approach. Yes, an older brother died. I wonder if the ex wife did too?

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Nice recap.

Hope everyone is having a great time of doing whatever makes you happy during this festive season.

Me? eating . . . shopping .... eating .....watching kdrama ... eating ... playing games . . . eating ... etc.

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Thanks for the recap!! And Merry Christmas!

Just one thought. We can't assume that there is only ONE alien left now, 400 years later. There could be others out there who have been left behind too and hopefully it makes for more drama and interesting interactions later!

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Oh, that's a great idea. I vote for more than one alien too!
Maybe that evil hyung is one?? Or would that be an insult to aliens? LOL.

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YES!!!!!

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I have a question: I read in the ep 2 comments that apparently Kim soohyuns character can't swap saliva with a human? Where was that mentioned in the series? I can't remember....

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In the first half of Ep 1, when he explained why he eats alone.

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If he cant swap saliva with humans, then there is no kissing in this drama between the otp ? or she is the only that can take this --hmm. wondering how they will proceed with the rom part of the rom-com.

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Perhaps there will be a significant consequence to exchanging saliva with an Earthing, maybe he won't be able to return to his home planet?
Earth saliva might infect him in some way, posing a danger to his fellow aliens? Same thing with the blood exchange.

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It should be okay because in k-drama saliva is never an issue, it close mouth press against stiff lips. I can count on both hands how many drama that had any kind of open mouth kiss, less head movement of any kind, not a chance in HELL there be a saliva kiss.

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Lol! Sad but true.

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I loveeeeeee this episode ?

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HK's evil brother is actually an evil allien that stayed on earth since he enjoyed the power and toying with humans feelings.

In the end of this drama epic battle between two hot alliens, good one vs. evil one.

LOL this way the dots connect

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oh my gosh! That'd be good. But then evil hyung would've had to be adopted. I'll watch his meal-eating habits in the future
;-)

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those meta jokes about the entertainment industry kill me, especially the one about having too many medical dramas. hahahha.

this is my new crack drama. kim soohyun and jun jihyun are killing it in these roles :D

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1. i'm starting to wonder what happened to jae-kyung and hwi-kyung's eldest brother. it sounds like he died, and i'm starting to suspect whether jae-kyung had him murdered so he could be next in line to inherit the company. though this theory is at odds with what he told hwi-kyung last week, that his original dream wasn't to work in the family business.

2. lol, i think song-yi's bitchiness may partially stem from being constantly plagued by hunger pangs. one apple and half a cabbage a day would make you pretty sensitive.

3. could there be more to yi-hwa's faked death? is it really as simple as the family didn't want to support her for the rest of her life? how did her husband die? i'm conjuring all sorts of makjang theories in my head...

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2. I'd be Bitchy as hell if I were on that diet! She's really nice considering.

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"one apple and half a cabbage a day would make you pretty sensitive" - Superb understatement, love it! :)
Makes me crave fried chicken and beer pronto!

Re 1 - I'm pretty sure no-one's safe from serial killer hyung. I'm wondering how far his ambitions extend, i.e. does he just want to be head of the company, or does he wanna rule the world?!

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Best drama ever...fullstop..

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I loved this episode and Kim soo hyun

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I'm really loving this drama. The epilogues at the end kill me haha.

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I love this couple!!! The way they are staring each other. OMG more that hyunzy.

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This drama is my new crack. I haven't felt this excited about a story and its characters since IHYV and Master's Sun. Hurrah for what hopefully will be a fun but epic journey!

For me, Lawyer Jang wins all the things for his fun lines in this episode.. First about Min-joon scoffing about reincarnation when his own existence as an alien is true, and his observation on Min-joon calling him out ("I have a private life, too!") just to gloat on how he doesn't give a d@mn about Song Yi. Hee.

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I can't stop laughing whenever I saw KSH lectured in front of the students who looked older than him. Lol.

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Jeon Jihyun and Gong Hyojin should totally make a drama together...they're both natural actresses. Being proud and obnoxious is like natural to Jeon. And I like how expressive her eyes are! She can go from vulnerable to bitch in like 0.5 secs :))

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any korean drama PDs out there!?!
this one's a hella good idea!! jihyun and hyojin in a drama or movie please!

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another age joke in you from another star is that song yi's brother (ahn jae hyun) is 26 six years old. Kim Soo Hyun was born in 1988. Doesn't it make him even younger than Ahn Jae Hyun? And he supposed to be oldest being in this drama.

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Kim Soo Hyun is an early 88er being born in February, so he is considered an 87er and technically dong-gap with Ahn Jae Hyun.

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both are soo good in acting now I know why they're so popular in korea.. well deserved..

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This show is great, thanks. Beautiful autumn landscape in those scenes from the past.

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I am beginning to love this drama, wasn't sure with the first two episodes. The acting is so good, you can kind of tell that they are movie stars, no over acting, everything is so subtle and well acted. Can't wait for next episode.

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GAH, I freakin' love this drama. It's just soo amazing because there are funny/hilarious moments but there are also sad/touching moments and THANK GOD, you never fell in the kdrama parody. It's just so fresh.

I really love how Song Yi. She is obviously flawed but she is just so badass that you don't even care. I love how Jeon Ji Hyun is playing her : fiery and yet fragile. I loved her interactions with her family especially her younger brother. Gosh', I hate her mother. She is so cruel ...

I don't need to say anything for Kim Soo Hyun. That man is pure gold and how I am happy that in all his works, he is amazing.
On a sidenote, I want him on Running Man with JJH. He is such a huge RM's fan so I hope that despite his current A-list status, he can still guest in another episode :D

Oh gosh', I finally found my favorite scriptwriter. Park Ji Eun is such a genius with her witty lines and boy, you never got bored with her dramas. At least, the ones I watched lol. That's why I don't mind the whole CEO hyung that he is actually a murderer because I'm sure there is a good explanation and at the end, we will be like "OH GOSH, IT'S SO CLEVER !" LMAO but yeah, it does feel weird because it's a rom com or was it a melo too ? Never mind, I am all in until the ending <3

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With each episode, I'm hooked further.

It's like falling in love y'knw - scary yet exciting at the same time. Afraid that I will jinx this show because thus far, its so good. Keep what you're doing show - love love love.

Jeon Ji Hyun & Kim Soo Hyun leaves me moony-eyed. ^^

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I really love kim soo hyun. he is amazing actor. YWCFTS is the best drama this year. the rating was soo good. it will be increase of each eps.

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The heroine just might be my favorite heroine this year. There is so much to her. I thought the heroine in I hear your voice was a real ball-buster, but nooooooo. She was nothing compared to our actress. Perhaps because the IHYV heroine was so loved and generally respected despite her crappy school years and her indifference to her job. Song Yi lives in a world of hypocritical praise and where you have to do all kinds of games to be loved, and that love is generally not a love for you as you really are. The only one who loves her purely are Se-Mi, her brother, her not-fiance, and her father. And all of those loves are complicated.

Gotta say that I like Se-Mi a lot and I feel much the same way about her as I feel about Joon-ki in Prime Minister: SERIOUSLY, you have been nursing a school crush for ten years? Five years I can see. Seven on the outside if you have to always be in the beloved's presence. But dang, fixated obsessives, if the person has someone else....and if there are other people on a planet of 7 billion people... MOVE ON!

I'm liking the little mergings of science and fate. Heck, I like the scientific magic of stopping time (I'm sure it's all quantum physicsy) and how we have characters talking about aliens and horoscopes and fate and belief....and of course you KNOW that removing the perfectly-fitting shoes because of a premonition just isn't gonna prevent an accident...cause ya kow...fate is gonna get her ill-fitting ones to trip her up. And hero seems to make matters worse when he interferes.

Can't help it, I love over-the-top cold-hearted evil brother. Feels weird that he's here, yes ...but if we keep seeing glimpses from the Joseon era, maybe we'll see some parallels from the past. I like being in both eras at once. And this seems to be doing past and present stories well. That's why I liked Queen In Hyun's Man so much...and that's kinda where Rooftop Prince failed.

Love Representative Ahn, btw! He's a good PR/Father figure type. I hope greedy living-vicariously-through-daughter Mom doesn't bully heroine into going to another company.

Thanks so much for recapping this. I really appreciate it.

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I'm so glad that Jeon Ji-hyun is doing dramas.

I was like javabeans in that while I knew she was a good actress and I saw a few of her movies, she never really resonated with me much.

And I think that's because movies are just too short for me to grow to love an actor or actress. I really need a full length drama to really get to like them.

That's why I'm always surprised that starring in movies is considered an "upgrade." I guess it's more money but I rarely watch movies as dramas just seem so much better.

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Evil hyung is definitely one to watch, as long as they don't go over the top with the body count.

Shin Sung-Rok is so convincingly chilling, he sends shivers down my spine whenever he smiles! I last saw him in "Thank You" in a very different kind of role, so I'm having a hard time adjusting to this image of him!

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Song Yi is exactly the kind of heroine that i love. She is hilarious, loyal and totally amazing. Like a female version of Joo Joong Won she really does it well with the her loneliness.
Min joon on the other hand is a lil cold but someone who is starting to care little by little..
I cant wait for the new episodes and for your recaps.
Thanks for recapping Javabeans..:)

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was surprised this drama has lesser comments than the drama before its airing.

I never considered ratings when i watch any dramas, but i must say this drama deserve its high rating. The writer seems to be doing well recently. All her recent dramas score well with the viewers.

I hope the next few eps won't disappoint. I was in love with Good doctor first 4 eps but i eventually start losing interest when they introduced the wolf girl and other stories. Hopefully i will enjoy this drama like Master's Sun.

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MJ's favorite book is 구운몽, "The Cloud Dream of the Nine" which is a Joseon novel about a guy who dreams one night about all the riches, love (with 8 different women/fairies no less), fame, success one can have in life (and how vain they are) and wakes up to convert to a buddhist monk. Whereas SY is all about "Boy Love." Supposedly some of "the (manhwa) books of her life" are about gay love.

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Omo! Ma Te oppa should read that book!

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드라마 Drama
- an exciting, emotional, or unexpected series of events or set of circumstances

콩 bean
- a person's head, typically when regarded as a source of common sense.

So when we think of ourselves as Dramabeans, we are people who have the good sense to enjoy exciting and emotional shows. Or maybe we like being hit in the head by spectacular or unexpected events. Or maybe both, depending on the drama.

Just pondering the meaning of DB on this winter day ...

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Interesting. Thanks. :)

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I am loving this drama so far! So Yi is an amazing heroine! Arrogant, vulnerable, funny, sometimes dumb, but heartfelt, she's dynamic and interesting and doesn't fall directly into your typical archtypes.

Can I just say, Kdramas have been bringing their A game lately with some of the heroines? The heroine in "Miss Korea" is giving me similar good vibes, in that she is complex and strong, yet has flaws and fears and all that?

The only thing I am not quite sure about so far in this drama is the serial killer older brother. That's striking a weird chord, but it's still early in the series, so we'll see where that goes before I make any final judgments.

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YES! YES! YES!
I was actually worried that I won't have anything to obsess over once AM1994 is over but hell yeah this show proved to be a worthy replacement. what a fun watch!

the only fears I have is for them to go overboard with the creepy hyung's backstory and do something quite drastic on Se-mi's character.

....KIM SOO HYUN IS MIGHTY FINE LOOKING ALIEN!

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YES! YES! YES!
I was actually worried that I won't have anything to obsess over once AM1994 is over but hell yeah this show proved to be a worthy replacement. what a fun watch!

the only fears I have is for them to go overboard with the creepy hyung's backstory and do something quite drastic on Se-mi's character.

....KIM SOO HYUN IS ONE MIGHTY FINE LOOKING ALIEN!

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I really loving Song-yi and Min-joon interaction more at this time. It sad it not going to be more romance between them through the years, I get the feeling she die young without a chance to grow up because he would know what she would look like as a adult.

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I love this drama and so far there's just one thing bugging me. I'm diabetic, insulino dependant, like the ajusshi in the drama, and for a few reasons, the murder isn't really realistic. Also i laughed a lot when i saw he used the same model i use for getting blood out of my fingers! one thing i have in common with kdramas!!!

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I loved this episode. How uncomfortable did MJ look while asking for those manhwa? hahaha

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Finally...a new crack after TMS <3 loving it!

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I'm totally digging this drama at the mo; it sucks you right into the storytelling, be it in the past/present - they've captured the alien timeline perfectly. Love it. Thank you for the recap!

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I don't get the 1000 part of his beeper >.<

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1000 (thousand) in Korean is pronounced "chun," which is Song Yi's last name. Chun Song Yi.

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I just love it every time Min-joon's beeper goes off! Seriously feels like a momentary AM1994 crossover - best of both worlds, yay!

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