I don’t usually gravitate towards historical dramas nowadays, but I watched this for Yeo Jin-goo and was not disappoint. The endearing clown doppelganger is embroidered in court intrigue and falls in love with the queen – oh the scandal!!! For me, this has the perfect amount of court politics and romance without being bogged down with all the melodrama. It’s also absolutely beautiful to look at~ Wow, I gotta re-watch this again soon. 😛

the poster though… wow

It is structured around a series of recommendation letters an English professor has to write for his students as well as some correspondences between him and his colleagues. Throughout the novel, we learn more about the woes our dear narrator, the aforementioned English professor, had to go through – including office politics and interpersonal dramas. It’s funny, at times poignant, with a sprinkle of sads here and there. I definitely recommended this for a quick and fun read this Fall. 🙂

I laughed and laughed when I read this book. My first foray into university was at the institution where the author works, and I knew exactly which buildings she was describing.

Have you read the second book? I couldn’t get into it and I’m not sure if it was just me or if it just wasn’t as good.

DAY 3: your favorite series – Harry Potter. Harry Potter series has always been a favorite of mine. It’s very nostalgic for me. But it’s infuriating that JK Rowling is such a problematic, transphobic figure. I know I can still enjoy her work even if I disagreed with her transphobic/homophobic statements, but it’s just so disappointing. 🙁
DAY 4: favorite book of a favorite series – wow this whole thing is really about Harry Potter, isn’t it. My favorite book is The Goblet of Fire. Shit hit the fan in that book and I think that book marks the series’ shift in tone from a fun YA fantasy to dealing with more adult themes.

I don’t think I have really liked any other series as much as Harry Potter. I also don’t really read that many series to begin with.

– It’s a short and fascinating read about a woman who contends herself with her job at a convenience store. Most of the book discusses the main character’s struggles with trying to fit into social expectations and standards – why does she continue to work at a “dead-end” job for so long? does she not have any ambitions? what about marriage and children? These are some big overarching themes/questions that the book touched on in a very quirky, funny, and ironic way. I am in love with this book and HOLY SMOKES we should all give it a shot!!!!

– JO JUNG-SEOK! This drama made me fell in love with his bodyguard character so hard, only to have my heart yanked out of my chest at the end. His bromance with LSG is beautiful to behold~ Worth all the pain, honestly.
– HA JI-WON is always badass, and it’s no different in this drama. I freaking love her skepticism over being betrothed to a spoiled af prince and the continued refusal of his courting gifts. And the moments when we see her resolve starting to break, ahhhh yes. I was right there with her, swooning over love declarations.
– LEE SEUNG-GI as a spoiled prince with a great character’s arc! He went from a pampered prince to a swoon-worthy king in the span of the 16 episodes. What not to love about that? I especially remembered the first official meeting between Prince Lee Jea-ha and Comrade Kim Hang-ah that involves a Dunkin Donut PPL that made me craved donuts for days. HA.

No words can explain how much I love this drama! Especially the end (minus the Earnest Bot part) where both fought to defeat the villain and lead their happily ever after

I have no idea if this show will stand the test of time but I remember it being wholesome and good enough for 2015. There was hardly anything I disliked (maybe HJW’s acting a little) but tragedy, drama, romance, everything was well done. Earnest bot is the best forever though.

– It’s a beautiful story of two traumatized, lonely people finding strength and love in each other. They help one another heal and overcome their own traumatic pasts in order to build a brighter future together. It’s heartbreakingly realistic in its portrayals of grief/mourning and PTSD. I don’t think of it as melodramatic like a makjang, but it does have slower pacing and an overall pensive tone.
– I love Won Jin-ah and Junho! This is probably the best acting I’ve seen from both of them.
– Also, for once, the poor ML’s using a shitty, beat-up phone that so accurately reflected his circumstances. This is oddly something that stands out to me when I first watched this drama. 🙂

I swear that I will watch this soon. This has been on my watch list for a long time but real life already makes me sad enough that I can’t bring myself to get hurt again.

Suddenly missing Junho.

HOLY SMOKES!
– Nurse Park just zoomed up the ladder of creepiness in the course of the episode. WOW. We have hints here and there to show her being a bit off-kilter. I anticipated the possibility of her being the mom/someone related to the mom and wasn’t so surprised at the reveal. But to see her showed her true colors here was CHILLING. Funny also because I thought it was strange that Jang Young-nam would take on a seemingly minor role of the head nurse – I just loved her in all the shows/movies and was a bit sad when I assumed this. AND BOY WAS I WRONG.
– Sang-tea feeding Moon-young and using his forgiveness as bait to get her to eat kills me. It was SOOOO SWEET! He’s also drawing the butterfly in his sketchbook with much more details this time around. It’s so good to see him processing his trauma and truly trying to heal. When he asked Kang-tae if Moon-young was crying from physical pain or whimpering from emotional pain – I might have also whimpered. *tears*
– THE HUG! Kang-tae asking Sang-tae for support and comfort makes my heart soars! YES! Now their relationship seems more equal and healthy!
– Moon-young asking for forgiveness is such a huge step for her character’s development. It breaks my heart that this is what she’s asking forgiveness for. The moment she decided to act and to lure her mom to her, all the while wearing that kickass red dress – I might have swooned. ALSO, the opening scene when she told Kang-tae that she just needed some time to think for herself and that she wasn’t running away. A+ for clear communication! Woot!

WAHHHH!
I’m very invested in the story and our characters still, but this episode doesn’t leave me as emotionally drained as before. It’s probably meant I’ve plateaued and no other sads can make me sadder. 😀
The many things I love in this episode:
– Sang-tae oppa practices drawing butterflies in his sketchbook! That’s such a huge step toward healing for him and I’m so happy to see that.
– Moon-young’s streak of jealousy and throwing out threats left and right. She’s changed a lot over the course of the drama, which is great, but she hasn’t lost all of that possessive/unhinged side of her. That makes it more fun to watch and also more believable within her character’s framework.
– Kang-tae in that suit is DAMN FINE. I mean, I don’t think this needs saying but WOW. Yes, please always just wear suits for the last 3 eps. I’d watch that happily.
– Also, Kang-tae wanting to go back to school and to focus on other parts of his life and learning to lean on his hyung for help and support!!!! YES BABE! YES!!!
– And Sang-tae oppa being there, acknowledging that he’s the eldest and trying to protect and care for his two ounger siblings. My heart can barely contain all the love I have for this trio.

same. I wish I was blown away by the revelation but all I can think was, yes we were right! 😛
But I cant wait to hear how she managed to be so hidden in plain sight for so long.

I was surprised to see that Episode 1 was so short (only 5 minutes).

I’m now waiting for Episode 2 to be unlocked. After being spurned by my subscription on Viki, I refuse to join any other subscription just to gain access to content earlier… I can wait, since the content will be available to me later

Na PD is amazing~! Watch the other versions of Over Flowers and his other shows. It’s healing considering we can’t travel these days.

I love that Kang-tae now has Director Oh as a confidante to share the horrible discovery with. It is going to be a difficult obstacle to overcome, but now more than ever, I truly believe that our little found family will be able to do it together. The family photo moment is so precious and beautiful. Not that Kim Soo-hyun wasn’t freaking beautiful during the last 12+ hours, but he looks absolutely SMASHING in that suit. *SWOONS* AND Sang-tae’s BIG SMILE when he sees Kang-tae appears. AHHHH!!!! SO SWEET! This moment is going to help get me through the upcoming turmoils~

I am so ready to see Kang-tae kicks ass and defend his family! Now that he has one, he’s not going to let anyone breaks it apart. And I’m sure Sang-tae will chip in as well, being the hyung of the family. It makes me so happy to see how he helps the patient on the bus. Sang-tae is very capable. He just needs the little push, like all of us at various points in our lives.
Another thing that I’m very happy about is Joo-ri’s arc! She doesn’t spend the whole drama being the jealous second lead but has her own life and character progression. Her date with CEO Lee was so cute to watch! When CEO Lee told her he wanted to talk about Joo-ri and Sang-in, instead of Kang-tae and Moon-young, it made my heart so happy!

The many moments that made me cry:
– Sang-tae realizes that Kang-tae looks happy, for the first time, in his sleep.
– Sang-tae taking Kang-tae out to lunch and gives him allowance money, all from his savings that was meant to buy a camping car! That was important to Sang-tae and he didn’t even let Kang-tae look at before. The transition from saving for camping car for their future moves to using it to treat Kang-tae in the present is so freaking beautiful to watch. I might have been squealing the whole time.
– THE KISS! Ahhh~ So sweet~
– Moon-young trying to take care of Kang-tae! She cracks me up with the ice bath. What a sweet nugget~
– Both Sang-tae and Moon-young are possessive af, but they’re learning to share and to listen to one another, and letting their love for Kang-tae bring them together instead of break them apart. I love seeing this development – makes my heart feel all warm and fuzzy.
– The fight between the brothers is much needed. Kang-tae should be able to talk to Sang-tae and express his true feelings, and to point out when Sang-tae has crossed the line. I’m glad he’s able to take that step now.
– Joo-ri and CEO Lee’s date!!!! So cute!!! I’m totally on board this ship! AND Joo-ri’s mom putting lipstick on her before she goes on the date. AHHH! Precious!

it’s ok to not be ok

EP 9:

Ok, hold on a minute, y’all. Let just have a moment of appreciation for Kang-tae’s arms’ veins and his beautiful (crying) eyes. Good, now pardon me as I just spazz on and on about how satisfying this show is to watch. But first, a disclaimer: my knowledge of ASD and Autism came from very brief Google searches when I started watching the show, and the only thing I have personal experiences of is cognitive-behavioral therapy. That said, I didn’t fully expect the show to follow faithfully what each condition and treatment method entails because it is a work of fiction. Some liberties are usually taken unless the writing takes on an offensive interpretation. Otherwise, my baseline is to be entertained. A huge plus is to be satisfied. And IOTNBO entertains me in the most satisfactory of ways.
– CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT: I’m so happy at how ALL of our characters are progressing in their own arcs. Let’s start with the supporting roles: JOO-RI = I didn’t like her for a hot minute there, and was fully expecting her to be the regular jealous second love interest. But the full story of her childhood friendship with Moon-young, as revealed today, redeemed her character for me. I love the possibility of Joo-ri and Moon-young reconciling and becoming friends again, and I think there’s potential for that. Joo-ri was reading through Moon-young’s books after her conversation with CEO Lee, and I thin of that as Joo-ri trying to understand Moon-young. They would make great friends, tbh! CEO LEE: I love seeing him and Joo-ri together. I love his presence in the house, and his rapport with the other characters. I love that he understands a different side of Moon-young, and isn’t afraid to speak up about it. JAE-SU: I do wish we get to see how Jea-su and Kang-tae became friends in actual flashbacks instead of via expositional dialogue. I love his goofy character and colorful outfits! JOO-RI’s MOM: continues to be a stabilizing influence on everyone who lives in her house. The tidbit about the Hospital’s Director courting her is so great! They would be one hell of a power couple! SEUNG-JAE: is just a sweetheart. I love this actress! Her part is small but I enjoy every second she’s on-screen. Her outfits and her inability to censor herself around her boss are gold. A-REUM and JONG-TAE: A round of applause for Jong-tae’s realization and determination to get better and to work for a better future with A-reum. I just freaking love these two in this episode!

– SANG-TAE: It hurts to watch the last few minutes of EP 9. I suspected that Sang-tae remembered the incident at the lake, and part of why he walked away from Kang-tae was because Kang-tae had clearly intended to leave him first. What I hope to see next is Sang-tae’s realization that his leaving Kang-tae behind in the lake isn’t quite the same as Kang-tae’s, and understand that they both have hurt each other without meaning to. I want Sang-tae to also see how frustrating it was for Kang-tae to be his caretaker. But I think this is where the misunderstanding and hurt came from – Sang-tae doesn’t think he needed the extensive care Kang-tae provides, while Kang-tae, out of guilt and familial love, binds himself to Sang-tae in a really unhealthy way. Sang-tae repeatedly says that he’s the older brother and he has to take care of Kang-tae. He works to buy the camping car so the two of them can freely move around. To see that the incident at the lake deeply affects him all this time is heartbreaking. I know it hurts now to see the brothers fight, but I also think that the eventual resolution will be worth all the tears I’ve shed.
– KANG-TAE: When would my dear sunshine realize that he’s such a bad liar? Hon, you’ve gotta learn that for your own good. Also for my own emotional well-being! I’m running out of tears to shed. It was SO FREAKING BRILLIANT to see him take the first very tentative steps toward building a deeper relationship with Moon-young, someone else who isn’t his brother. My heart was soaring throughout the episode, but I was shot down during the last 5 minutes and the ensuing cry-fest. The hints of troubles are dropped throughout the episode, but I was too hyped on love and hope to realize it. AHHH I don’t know how I’m going to be able to handle episode 10. I was so happy last week. OMG.

AAAHHHHHHHHH

Same. AHHHH.

kim soo hyun is so silly HAHAHAHAHA

Go moon young maybe one of my favourite female characters in drama land! Girl has fire ufff ❤️

– The gradual shift in tone during this weekend’s episodes is so beautifully done! Gone was the days of gloom and sadness. Well, not entirely gone because our leads are very much still dealing with their traumas, but there’s a lot more hope in the air now. I love that we get the character development in both Kang-tae and Moon-young, but their progress isn’t entirely perfect. The scene with Choi Daniel is hilarious – both because it entices Kang-tae into jealousy mode, and also because it shows that Moon-young still has a lot of issues to work through herself, that cutting off her hair does a lot of good but there’s still a lot more to do. Maybe, it’s meant to show us that that’s who Moon-young is, and some aspects of her character won’t be changed at all. And that’s ok.
– KANG-TAE: ahhh, my sunshine. He smiles so much more in this episode, and while I spent all of the time just swooning, I so appreciate where his character’s development is heading. We get a lot of hints at problems ahead now that Kang-tae is willing to break free of his burdens. Kang-tae’s change in attitude will be a big shock to Sang-tae, and we’re already starting to see that in this episode. Kang-tae’s “breaking free” just means finding a better, healthier way to take care of his brother while also living his life to the fullest.
– This episode also marks the moment when both Kang-tae and Moon-young realized their feelings for each other. Moon-young has always wanted Kang-tae in the way that she finds him interesting and freaking beautiful to look at (no judgement there because that’s how I also feel). Today’s episode when A-reum voiced her belief in pure love, her conviction strikes a chord with Moon-young. For once, she sees her desire for Kang-tae goes beyond the physical. I think that shakes her up a bit. And Kang-tae, ahh, the moment he gets jealous and wonders if he’s gone crazy – boy, that’s the first sign of falling in love in K-dramaland. Get ready.

– ALSO, I absolutely love that CEO Lee and Seung-jae are living with Joo-ri and her mom and Jae-su now. They make a great sitcom ensemble. Truly, somebody gives them a spin-off! ALSO, Joo-ri’s facial expressions should expand to include different ways to show sadness and frustrations. Girl, turning your face upwards to “stop the tears” is such an outdated choice. Let them fall~ Free the tears!

Finally, the full version!

Same😭😍