Flower Boy Next Door ep 7: Dramatic Friday Review

Good morning AddicKts!  It's hard to believe but we're already back for another couple of reviews of FBND.  What did you think of this week's offerings?  We got some pretty decent cliffhangers I'd venture to say.  Especially the end of this one, episode 7.  A little more backstories were revealed for a couple of characters, though I feel a bit more confused than ever because of them.  That's okay.  Just like any drama, I'm sure it will eventually all make perfect sense to me.  You may recall an earlier confession I made while reviewing another drama - I fully admit to being slow on the uptake.  Sometimes things take a while to set in and come together in the ol' noggin.  Works fine for me, I'm totally good with it, but it does present a bit of a problem when I try to review and talk about them before it's all been de-fogged.  But hey, all part of the journey and adventure, right?


If you'll recall, we left off in episode 6 with Jin Rak calling Enrique out, telling him that they needed to talk.  And talk they do.  In the opening scenes of 7.  They're up on the roof.

It was a very funny and amusing conversation, but the net result was this -- Jin Rak admits to liking Dok Mi and Enrique says he doesn't like her and there's no way she would ever be interested in him because she pretty much hates him.  They argue a bit over who knows her better.  Enrique has insight he has gained from spending so much time with her and Jin Rak from watching her for 3 years.  Don't hate me Team Rakians, but I'm sorry, Enrique knows her better.  Jin Rak may know how many books she checks out from the library at a time, but Enrique understands her dreams and secret self better because he has been inside her private world, aka her apartment.  For example, he's seen the travel pictures posted and knows that the only travel she does is by television.  I love Jin Rak and there is a part of me pulling for him, but he doesn't really truly know her as well as he thinks he does.  He knows that she organizes the recycling, but does he know why she organizes the recycling?  Not that he couldn't get to know her, he's just not quite there yet.  Nor is Enrique for that matter, but I think he may be a little closer in the race if I were to tally the scores right now.  Anyway, all that aside, Enrique enlists to help Jin Rak win the girl, seeing that he'll never be able to do it at the pace he's going for someone will surely swoop in and steal her first before Rak gets the stones up to say something.  In all his caution towards this "broken winged bird" (my words, not theirs), Jin Rak may very well lose her.  You know, like to Enrique, but we're not really supposed to know that yet.  But we know.  I mean, this ain't our first rodeo, is it?  Hmm...I guess it may be someone's first rodeo and I just spoiled it for you.  Sorry.  But you'll have to learn sooner or later.  It's the Curse of the 2nd Male Lead.  You'll get used to it.  You may not always like it, but sooner or later, you have to just resign yourself to the fact and roll with it, otherwise your life will be nothing but regret and "wae?"s.

So, while Enjin (today's bromance name for our two hotties) are up on the rooftop having their chat, Jin Rak has a couple of visitors waiting for him down in front of his place.  Two scary men in suits looking for him on charges of embezzlement, fraud and impersonation.

Dong Hoon, the roommate extraordinaire, is trying to throw them off the scent, making claims about how Jin Rak doesn't live there and yadayadayada.  Then Dok Mi comes out and starts standing up to them.

Woohoo!  You go gurl!  She's asking them for ID and such, basically calling their bluff.  They're probably not official-types.  My theory, if you want to hear it is this (and I am probably wayyy off base here, but why not toss it out there anyway and see if anything sticks as the story goes on), Jin Rak is from a wealthy family and has cut off ties with them.  That's why he changed his name and why he's always seemingly on the run or hiding.  And his family is trying to hunt him down, hence the scary dudes that look official but probably are not.  Again, just a theory, and we'll have to see if I'm right or not (I'm almost never right by the way, so don't rely too heavily on me), but there it is anyway.

Enjin's convo on the rooftop does not go un-eavesdropped.  Duh.  Of course not.  You can't have something like this happening without someone overhearing it.  Drama Basics 101 state that any semi-important conversation must always have at least one person of note listening in.  In this case, who else would it be but the ever-tenacious and completely obnoxious Muppet Hunter, Do Hwi?

7 episodes in and I am already so done with this character.  She is like nails on a chalkboard.  Funny nails on a chalkboard sometimes, but still, grating and annoying.  She flips out when she hears Enrique telling Jin Rak that he'll help him win Dok Mi's heart.  She dashes over to them screaming "noooo!!!!".

I love the looks he gives her.  He's just so baffled by this strange woman.  I love it!

 

Then she of course tries to put the calm, cool and collected facade back on (seriously, is anyone falling for this?) and starts telling tales out of school.  She tells the guys about Dok Mi's sorted past with her English teacher.  Hmmm...maybe I'm just cynical, but something about this story just didn't seem, shall we say, truthful?  No way.  Could it be that Muppet Hunter is a big, fluffy liar liar pants on fire?  Say anything to get her way kind of gal?  Shocker.  It does make one wonder what the full and true story is behind it though.  Obviously something happened, we just don't have all of the details yet.  I'm sure we'll get there, we just have to be patient.

This is where we start to get into a little bit of trouble with our dear Enrique though.  He starts to dole out advice to Do Hwi how to win her way back into Dok Mi's life.  Uh oh.  No, Enrique, please no.  Your heart is in the right place, but this is a serious mistake.  Do Hwi is toxic and is just using Dok Mi to get to Jin Rak for some reason.  You've figured out that there's something more than just an incidental-meeting-turned-crush, right?  Do Hwi came there in the first place looking for Jin Rak.  She knows his original name.  She purposefully is targeting him.  We just don't know why, but I'm pretty convinced it's something other than that she just has the hots for him.  She cannot be trusted.  She turned on her best friend and wears the pelts of cute, furry, innocent children's puppets.  Everything about her screams "DO NOT TRUST!!!", yet here's Enrique, foolishly giving her the skinny on worming her way back into the life of the one person who really needs to be rid of her once and for all.

Enter the cooking class.  Watanabe is teaching the residents of the 4th floor how to cook.  Dok Mi has been fanagled into attending.  Lo and behold, guess who else is coming to dinner?

Do Hwi does her very best to woo her former best friend.  Is Dok Mi wavering?  I sure hope not.  What if she trusts Do Hwi again and gets betrayed even worse than before?  Pretty sure that's the direction we're heading here, but again, we'll just have to wait and see.

The majority of the remaining part of the episode deals with a falling out that Dok Mi and Enrique have.  He hits a nerve, she lashes back.  He wants her to stop hiding and running away, she calls him cold and empty.  She kicks him out.  He is very distraught over the accusations she flung at him and starts to really examine himself.  He can't get it out of his head.  It starts to affect him at work.  He's lost his bounce and sizzle.  Frankly he starts acting more like a man and less like a child.  Okay, I'm just going to say it.  I tried to avoid openly taking sides so early in the game, but I can't hold it in much longer.  As much as I LOVE Jin Rak, truly, truly do, I'm going to have to declare myself as Team Enrique.  Why?  Because I think in the end, he's going to be what is best for her.  As sweet as Jin Rak is, he's not helping Dok Mi by going easy on her.  She does need to rejoin the world.  Will it be painful and fraught with challenges and difficulty?  Yes.  I'm afraid so.  Change usually is.  But she can't keep living her life hiding from the world.  She needs someone like Enrique to be that catalyst to get her uncomfortable and changing.  She's not okay the way she is.  So yes, Enrique makes a mistake or two, but like I said, it's with good intentions.  His biggest flaw in the Do Hwi situation is trusting the harpy, which I accredit to his immaturity and naivete.  He is incredibly immature in a lot of ways.  Look at his life though.  Designed his first game at the ripe old age of 10 years old?  He's achieved this mega status at such a tender age and that can be detrimental to the way someone matures.  Which is why, conversely, Dok Mi is great for him.  She, due to her unfortunate past history, matured at an early age and learned some tough life lessons that have helped shape her into just the right woman for Enrique.  They both are flawed and broken in some way, but both equipped with the tools to help each other out.  Even if it wasn't on a romantic level, just knowing each other will improve their respective lives.  So yes, there will be bumps and bruises along the way, but ultimately, both are good and healthy for each other, even more than Jin Rak (sorry baby - you're awesome and deserve someone spectacular, but I just don't think it's going to be Dok Mi).  I wonder how many antis this declaration will earn me?

And here we are.  Dok Mi and Enrique have had a falling out, Jin Rak is about to get up the courage to confess to Dok Mi and Do Hwi is crazy and obnoxious and making trouble in the neighborhood.  To add to all of this, Enrique has his phone stolen, which sets us up for some plot kind of stuff in the next episode.

Phone thief.  Think there is a reason we are shown at least part of his/her face?  I think so too.  I think who this person is might just maybe come to be important later.  Just a guess.  I'm so full of those today.

This episode ends with the three leads walking home when an upset Seo Young comes up.  She's just found out that Han Tae Joon is leaving for the island (I think they mean army) the next day.  She is crying and distraught.  Enrique drops his food and pulls her in for a hug.

Dok Mi, who has been watching all of this happen, then walks over to him and pulls him away from Seo Young.  We're left with the two of them standing there all close and staring at each other with all sorts of emotions flying around on their faces.  GASP!  Heart flutters and flips all over the place!

Anyone else start chanting "Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!" during this part or was that just me?

What will happen next?  Let's jump on over to 8 and find out!