Beanie level: Rooftop room dweller

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Anyway, a really sad episode of Vincenzo today. I was hoping Ms. Oh would learn about Vincenzo before she died. But…

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    I think she knew, at least that’s what she tells JoonWoo. In fact I was thinking all the time while they were having that walk in the park that she knew Vincenzo was her son and that’s why she said all those things, she was just waiting for him to say it.
    In fact, that may be what she wrote in the letter to ChaYoung. I never bought she just deduced it.

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      Agreed, there is a good chance of this. Still, having them say it to each other would have been more touching. Sigh.

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        I guess it’s a way the show tells us Vincenzo can’t always win. As much as we love him, he’s not either a good guy :/

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I thought Vincenzo was 16 episodes? Here I was expecting a grand finale today, only to get yet another cliff hanger. Not that I\’m entirely complaining. Another few weeks of wacky madness is surely welcome.

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Vincenzo randomly quizzing Han-seo is peak randomness. This show is hilarious.

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Thoughts about this: (1) The gap is pretty distressing as well as damning. (2) $440,000/episode is not well-deserved. KSH is a great actor, but I really don\’t see how this would ever be a justifiable salary for an actor for one episode. For comparison, my brother, an ICU doctor, makes less than half KSH makes per episode. (3) Looking at all of the per episode salaries of lead roles, I\’m sort of shocked. If you go off the self-presentation of k-celebs in variety shows and the like, you\’d never think they were this loaded. Or, well, I never thought they were this loaded. Not entirely surprising, though, now that I think about it. I remember watching Na Yeong-seok\’s series Mapo Hipster and was absolutely gobsmacked by how much $$$ Minho and P.O. spent on clothing. This, again, leads me back to (2). Yeah, yeah, yeah, the market and all that, but still. There\’s something wrong with the culture we all live in, which pays people less to save lives vs fleetingly entertain people. https://www.koreaboo.com/news/pay-discrepancies-male-female-actors-making-headlines-kim-soo-hyun-salary/

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    Hmmm. The information here conflicts with info I remember seeing floating around during Hospital Playlist, where it was reported JJS was going to get paid something like $80k per episode and it was supposedly a lot in comparison to what actors usually get paid, but JJS had them reduce it to $50k. I wouldn’t be surprised if hallyu stars get paid more, but 200 million KRW/episode for the AVERAGE male lead seems like a lot to me.

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      Yeah, I read that as well re JJS: https://www.soompi.com/article/1398477wpp/jo-jung-suk-voluntarily-reduces-his-payment-for-acting-in-hospital-playlist

      This article agrees with your numbers: https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/celebrity/article/3094175/lee-min-ho-kim-soo-hyun-or-hyun-bin-who-earns-most-10-top. It doesn’t list a source for those numbers though.

      They’re still making bank IMO. It’s still pretty ridiculous IMO. And, even if the South China Morning Post article is right about KSH, he in particular is still making a pretty ridiculous sum off of each episode.

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        These numbers make more sense, even if it is an indecent amount of money, specially if we compare it to what other professionals get (as your brother). But then… “hello, it’s free market”. Just think about how much football (soccer) players are paid, and remember I’m from Spain… Real Madrid and Barcelona all over the place.
        As for the gender gap, it’s all over the place, everywhere. I’ve suffered it myself for so many years I thought it was normal, and it isn’t… why should I earn less for the same job my male partner is doing.
        Anyway, as for dramas, as long as they are focused on male leads and show us female as persons to be protected and born to be wives and mums, there’s very little we can do.

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        Those are closer to the numbers I’ve seen before though it still is ridiculous. I imagine they don’t see that much, as a percentage would go to their agency and assistants, etc.

        Re. the article above, if it is really true that Ji Chang Wook makes the same as Lee Jong Suk and Song Joong Ki, I am perplexed.

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    That’s a huge sum but I’m not surprised. Celebrities earn a lot everywhere and that is basically one reason why people even want to become celebrities, to earn that much. On the other hand yes you are right about priorities but they are some professions on serving others. Some of them are paid much less. But also by any means I don’t think a career in this cut throat industry is easy and neither is making it big. It is a very undefined industry where you are only left to your persistence provided you have no contacts but even once you’ve made it life and work doesn’t get easier. But yeah the basis are wrong and I don’t think they’ll change anytime soon but in any way I don’t think the celebrity is working any less even if it’s only for their sake.

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      Oh, well, I don’t deny that there’s a lot of hard work and effort involved. I also don’t deny that working as a celebrity is pretty challenging, given the kinds of attention they are subject to. Still, I think there’s something odd about rewarding a profession like this over professions like doctors or engineers, given that doctors and engineers (IMO) do work that is way more socially beneficial.

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    I was worried especially without half of their team and going against idols that are 10 years younger than them but this dispelled my worries. 💙 BTOB💙

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      IMO, so far their round 1 performance has been the best. The Boyz had just too much stuff in their performance (it felt cluttered and disjointed, plus the effect of each individual cool thing they included was blunted because they had just too many surprising things), while iKON’s performance felt like it was lacking something.

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        I agree! I was actually a bit sad that all the bts of the first performance didnt focus on the actual theme (into the world) and was also focused on making an extravagant performance. Even BTOB didn’t really mention the reason of choosing their song as related to the theme even though I think that it best fits the theme. They are “missing” performing live for people nationally and international for a year like the lyrics! And the hanbok and traditional instruments nicely included to showcase parts of Korea internationally. But I’m a bit biased so.. hehe

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I know it’s immature, but I still find this so funny.

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I get why this song is picking up so much popularity. It’s catchy!

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    Also, here’s a video of Pentagon hilariously trying to cover this song: https://youtu.be/0UyV5mMx1tc

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    Well, I don’t know much about it, but I read that the group was almost considering disbanding because and they didn’t even had an agency, but now the algorithm has brought them back (just as with My House by 2PM). They worked really hard and gave as much concerts in the Army as they could (I read they even went to an island that is only 14 km from NK and that no other group would go because it takes so long to get there), so when the MV with the compilation was released, I guess all the soldiers in SK pressed the “play” button. I’m really happy for them, that after all their hard work they now have the attention they deserve.
    The video with the compilation is this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfHWIqJkEf4

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      I read about this as well!

      Truly well-deserved.

      Although I gotta say, the fact that the algorithm revived a moribund band, while in some way really cool and a great thing for the band in any case, is a disturbing testament to the power of their power.

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        I know, it’s utterly disturbing. As for 2PM I thought it was not the algorithm but really JYP, but this girls don’t have a powerful agency behind, so I guess it’s Skynet 😱😱😱😱

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I love harabeoji in Navillera so much. Seeing where the story is going with him makes me so sad. He\’s such a kind, fatherly soul. I feel like watching this transpire will be like losing a (fictional) friend and mentor.

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This is funny

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    Jessy is so excessive but also sooooo funny!!
    Thanks for sharing 🙂

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Started watching Revolutionary Sisters today. I like it so far. Kim Kyung-nam is ❤️❤️❤️.

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    I’m a bit sad that he passed on that one sageuk now I have to watch “RS” just to see him lol.

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      I like him in this role. He’s cute and fluffy, kind of like his character in Prison Playbook. Which reminds me: I love his range. He can play absolute goofballs as well as psychopaths and stoic tough guys.

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        That’s good to hear but even if it’s crappy I’d still at least watch his scenes.
        I’m definitely rooting for him and I like it that he’s taking his time and not rushing into lead roles.

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      I’m saguek-ed out. Revolutionary Sisters makes my blood pressure rise lol but his character is the best of the lot. Weekend dramas can be good career moves so I hope this leads to a good leading role.

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        Yeah, the show as a whole is sort of dumb, but somehow I really like it. IDK why. I think it’s because I find quite a few of the characters quite winsome. But yeah, Kim Kyung-nam is the best of the lot.

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        I haven’t finished a sageuk since NOKDU FLOWER and MY COUNTRY so I have a lot of room for my fave genre. Thankfully “The Book of Fish” will be out soon.
        I don’t have much patience for crappy sageuks like I used to. I’m getting old lol.

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          I think I generally dislike sageuks. I can’t think of any that are in my list of favourite k-dramas.

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            History is my thing and sageuks brought me to dramaland but yes, it’s not everyone’s cup of tea. I swear I was born in the wrong era lol.

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He’s so handsome!

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Have other beanies noticed a decline in language abilities since the pandemic began? I notice that I have a harder time holding conversations with people than I did before we all became shut-ins.

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    I hear you. While I truly enjoy the perks of having more quality time alone, I’m concerned that my interactions with others are not as smooth as before. Sometimes I have to stop to find the right words to express my thoughts. Most of the time, I find it awkward to stay close to other people for long conversation (5 mins is long to me now haha). I think it’ll take some time for us to get back to the level of social skills we had before the pandemic ~~

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      I think my life probably changed less than a lot of other people (I’m mostly a homebody anyway). However, even I’m having the same problems, i.e. difficulty choosing words, lots more awkward silences, uncomfortableness with long conversations, etc.

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    It’s actually true. The first time I went out to meet my friends, one of them said that she has forgotten how to hold in-person conversations longer than 5 minutes. Also I have become a bit more conscious while meeting new people

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    Yes definitely! I came back to the workplace from maternity leave after our lockdown (which was short compared to everyone else’s) and I was like …. I have forgotten how to make small talk let alone have work conversations.

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      My job is remote right now (has been since last July) and I barely talk to people in any given week (even on the phone or through Zoom/Teams/WebEx/whatever). The cumulative effect is that I find myself feeling super awkward in social interactions.

      I’d never thought about this before, but the experience really is very much like having primary responsibility for caring for a young child at home. I can see why parents who are primary caregivers of young children feel so socially isolated and lonely.

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        It is similar. I’m actually about to resign and become full time primary caregiver 😬 and I am pretty worried about getting socially isolated as literally everyone I know in my city works. So I’m going to have to force myself to get out there – which at least I can do because no lockdown, but is intimidating.

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          Yeah, I feel like the one thing with a lockdown is there’s lots of social recognition and sympathy over the fact that people are isolated, plus it’s a kind of collective isolation (as oxymoronic as this sounds) which makes it more bearable (hey, misery loves company). I feel like the thing with being a full-time primary caregiver is that it’s socially thankless. It makes it seem much harder IMO.

          Best of luck @beffels! Your kids are lucky to have such a great parent. Hopefully DB and k-dramas will allay some of the social isolation by providing a nice, if fleeting, distraction.

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            Thanks! It’s definitely the best decision for us right now but it is a scary prospect to be putting myself of work.

            Socially thankless is a good way of putting it. Not even the kids will appreciate it 😄

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    Same here! My case may be a bit extreme because I’ve always been socially awkward, but nowadays making small talk feels excruciating, specially in my weakest language (where I live there are two official languages). I’m constantly being sent to different workplaces as a substitute, so this situation leads to me just hiding from coworkers in order to avoid chit chat with people I’m not going to see for long anyway

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      Yikes, being sent to new workplaces sounds terrifying in these circumstances.

      I’ve always been a little bit socially awkward as well (might explain why I’m mostly a loner in my spare time). It’s been cranked up a lot, it seems, because of corona. Sigh. I hate this pandemic.

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      That sounds really hard; I’m always super nervous about talking to people in languages I’m not strong in even though generally people are really nice about it….to do it on a regular basis would be stressful. I wish I could be one of these people who could charge in and be “ah ha! Now is my opportunity to practice!” …but that is not me.

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        I’d love to be THAT person too 😂 I’m just super awkward. Fortunately, I don’t feel shy at all when I’m doing my work, it’s just in social settings

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    I’m managing fine in my workplace because all my collegues are also my friends and we have been in touch extensively even during the lockdown. But I’m having so much difficulty outside work like I’m unable to take my daughter to the park because I’m finding it so awkward to make small talk with everyone there that I just can’t stand it. I’m delegating that task to my husband. It was always there but I’m noticing it more these days. I just can’t handle small talk.

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      Is your husband having an easier time with social interactions?

      I imagine it must be a strange experience for your daughter in the midst of the pandemic. Children lose so much social interaction because of social distancing, lock-downs, etc.

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        Slightly better than me but not that comfortable. We both are introverts but I think he is social skills are much more intact than mine.
        My daughter is just a toddler so it did’nt make much difference for her and my house is full of people so she did’nt lack any interaction.

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      Park conversations I have always found hard…once we’ve got past “oh how nice they’re playing together”/“is this your dog” kind of things I’m pretty much at a loss.

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        And holding a conversation with a child is much more excruciating for me than with an adult. So many children come to the park and some try to play with my daughter and I’m just at a loss on what to talk with them. I think they don’t mind it at all and it is just in my head but still!

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          Talking to kids is hard! I admire people who can just do it naturally but I always struggle to get the level right between small kids and big kids.

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            It’s funny, I always thought I wasn’t good at talking to kids, but then I had my own kids and started working with children. Now I love it. Finding the right level for younger and bigger kids is tricky, and it’s definitely an acquired skill, but kids are super generous. If you treat them nicely and just be yourself, they’ll like you no matter what

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      I’m happy that my park days are over 😅 With Covid restrictions, I’m having a respite from sports competitions too, which is a bit like Park 2.0
      Anyway, in time you get to realise that there are lots of other parents who struggle to make small talk too, that made me feel less of a weirdo. Nowadays, I’m more at peace with it – I’m polite to everyone, but keep my distance and only talk to the people I feel like talking to

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        I’m just getting into the era of sports competitions and I find that a bit easier so far – probably partly because I have to spend so much time stopping the 1 yr old from running on the field I can’t hold a conversation anyway 😅

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          “stopping the 1 yr old from running on the field” <– Probably not the right reaction to this, but I couldn't help but say aww. That's so cute LOL, although I imagine it's a pain for you to keep him/her from disrupting the game.

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            It is super cute because she knows she shouldn’t do it so she’s always laughing cheekily while escaping 😅 but also exhausting 😄

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          So relatable. Toddlers are intense 🤣

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He’s so good at badminton! (Figures. He spent all of high school playing badminton and he almost tried to become a professional.)

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    I have no hand eye coordination so sports like tennis and badminton were always difficult for me. I used to hate having to play these sports for gym class.

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      I have poor hand-eye coordination as well. When I was young, I repeatedly cut myself with scissors by accident while doing art activities at school. I sucked at a lot of sports that involved this skill. E.g., could never play basketball (sucked at aiming the ball during shots), could never play a striking position in soccer (could never aim the ball), could never play baseball (could never hit a fast pitch with the bat), could never play a position in football that involved throwing or receiving or intercepting the football, etc. That said, I was okay at tennis and badminton, although I think this came more from the fact that I started playing those sports very young (my dad used to take us to play tennis on weekends and I used to play badminton with my uncles when I was younger; as I got older, I played both of these sports a lot with my brother and cousins) than from improvement in hand-eye coordination.

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      I am the same. My brother is the opposite though. I always end up warning people about this before playing with them lol. Also I think badminton is pretty popular in south-east Asia. A lot of players from that region have excellent rankings

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    He was really good here, after all she’s a national athlete.
    Not that I’m biased about uri Khunie!!!

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Oh God. I see what direction they\’re going to go with harabeoji in Navillera and it makes me very nervous. It could be really well-done; it could be a disaster.

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    Right. I did wonder why they made both Haraboji and Chae-rok understand each other so soon. I’m sure that’s the direction the show is taking Maq. I’m crossing my fingers now.

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      Sigh. Dementia is not a bad topic to deal with, but there’s so much already going on this show. I would’ve been content with this theme being omitted. However, it does sort of make sense. It’s a part of aging for many (unfortunately) and this show is trying to be true (at least in broad strokes) to the experience of an older dancer.

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    There was something in the first week that made me wonder and then today’s episode made me sure. It makes me sad, but I think they can do it well.

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    Especially when he keeps saying that he’s running out of time. Sigh – I wish they wouldn’t go there. 🙁
    and yet I understand why

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Took us a while to finally hear him sing this live, but OMG it’s so good sung live!

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While I’m posting 2PM songs, I’ll also recommend this one, which I’ve always thought was underrated. I especially like Nichkhun, Chansung, and Junho’s parts in this song.

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    Should say Wooyoung too, now that I re-listen to it. Tbh, I think Minjun got the sucky part of the song, especially with the dumb “All my sexy ladies refrain”. Taecyeon’s rap is, always, dece but nothing amazing.

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      “all my sexy ladies” refrain

      Also, for some reason, when Junho sings, “my sexy ladies”, in this song, it’s somehow more tolerable and actually pretty nice sounding. No offence to Minjun, of course, since he’s a great singer usually.

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        Whenever Junho sings anything it gets better.
        I know Jun. K. Is the main vocalist but I’ve always liked JunHo’s voice the most.

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Is it just me, or is there not a lot very good on air right now? Navillera is the best Korean thing on air since Run On (in my humble opinion). Otherwise, the best thing on air that I\’ve tried watching is You Are My Hero.

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    It is a dry spell in dramaland. Navillera is good but still not outstanding enough to compel me to watch every week.
    Though You Are My Hero is good indeed, plus the slow burn romance works well in the Chinese drama format. I kept putting it off thinking it’s another Dots but it’s not. And is better and does one thing right which Dots totally skipped, A journalist in a disaster zone.

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      Agreed. Navillera has nice aspects, but it’s not as engrossing as I wish and has some cliched elements that I think detract from what is otherwise a very fresh concept. I think it’s the type of show which would be better binged than watched on weekly basis.

      I’m deep enough into You Are My Hero to have plenty of complaints tbh. I think it’s a solid show overall, but I wish they focused much more on the main couple. I don’t care at all about the second or third couples. I also wish they were a bit less withholding with the cuteness involving the main couple. It feels a little too staid at times, especially in the first 12 or so episodes.

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        I have progressed a little into You are My Hero to know what you are saying. I actually only care about the main couple and no one else, not even their professions lol. So yeah it gets cute a little later on but I’m only staying for that.

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    I just finished Run On! Loved it.

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      Yes, a real gem all around! I actually miss it and may re-watch in the summer.

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    Agree about Navillera. I think there are a few entertaining shows but everything else is so dark. It’s not a dry spell but a dark one for me.

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    Not much is really grabbing me right now – I’m really enjoying Mouse but that is very much not everyone’s cup of tea. Otherwise I’m diving into the oldies for awhile.

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    Vincenzo is my happy pill.
    And as you, Navillera.
    For the rest I’m just watching.

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    Good dramas that suits my taste and current mood are scarce now. I recalled only completing Confession, Dr. Romantic 2, 365, Forest of Secrets 2, and now Vincenzo these past few years. With months of nothing in between.

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