I Remember You ep 2: We Were All Good...Until that Smirk!

Well, hello there! Welcome back! I am hoping/assuming that before coming here, you read Kmuse's take on episode 1. If not, you probably should. Right now would be just fine. It's okay, I'll be here when you get back. I'm very patient, so take all the time you need.

Pinocchio ep 10: Facts, Truth, and Impact

This post is so very late and I am so very sorry. The next episodes are out and all. Can you believe it? I won't bore you with the details and story behind the tardiness, though it actually is a pretty good one, as all stories that involve purple projectile puke tend to be. Late it may be, but I'll do my best to wrap it up nicely for you so that we can quickly get up to speed and ready for 11.

My Secret Hotel Episode 7 - Signs You Should Pull A Runaway Bride.

Where to begin?  This episode was jam packed to the gills and I can honestly say that a good 2/3rds of the episode I was shaking my head and yelling "what?  what?  WHAT?" at my computer screen.  And that was with my husband still awake and giving me the "my wife is crazy and it is all kdramas fault" look, that I usually try to avoid.  There was so many interesting, odd, and essential plot line in this episode, that I am actually going to break my blogging rule and give you more of a play by play of events.  Because when you have this much confusing crazy unexpected plot twists, you just have to break a rule or two.

But before we get to the interesting stuff, there is the pesky engagement that shouldn't be.  This sucker needs to be nullified ASAP.  So let's discuss the facts, and why this group of people should all be pulling a "Runaway Bride" about now.

I tried, I really tried to see what you all see in Jo Sung Gyeom, but I think I am a lost cause.  I just keep getting visions of control freak boyfriend from him, and his constant time related ultimatums don't help at all.  Preparing to leave for some kind of work related weekend, he hunts out Sang Hyo in order to affirm their new dating relationship. And also order her to get over Hae Young by the time he returns. He then has her fix his tie (symbolic sign of commitment - I see the tie more as a metaphor for emotional bondage's of doom) and heads off, comfortable that his woman will be waiting when he returns.  

All I can say is if you start the conversation with the sentence "You keep avoiding me even after agreeing to date me." that says something you control freak.  Run away Sang Hyo while you have a chance.

Moving on to our, soon to be married couple, Heo Young and Soo Ah, are also having a case of cold feet.  For the last six episodes I have not been a a huge fan of the bride.  At best, she has been dense and bubbly, at worst she has been the typical chaebol entitled heiress who treats her peons like crap.  But I guess the writers wanted to give her a good send off (oh please let her be gone for a while) allowing her to pull her own Runaway Bride (we have to free up the groom somehow without making him a total jerk for jilting someone at the last second).   

Soo Ah calls her groom on the phone, dressed in her wedding finery, and driving to the venue......next to her boyfriend the chauffeur.  As she tells Sang Hyo that she loves him more than anything and always will, she is OBVIOUSLY talking to her driver who is teary eyed next to her.  Um, if you are confessing to your secret boyfriend while on the phone with your fiancee, then maybe it is time to stop the wedding.

What I find surprising is that Hae Young (the one that has been the most antsy about this wedding) is the one most likely to go through with it.  He might be busy brooding in his hotel room (Does anyone else think his suits are resembling a marble counter top?) but he is planning on going through with the dreaded wedding.

Chauffeur boy toy ends up being the voice of reason (or at least of impetuous naivete) and announces that he and Soo Ah should ditch the wedding and run away together. YAY!!!!  The wedding is off. Or is it?

Hae Young receives the the unfortunate wonderful news, but before he even has time to process this turn of events, Sang Hyo is screeching for him to go get the bride back since she has to throw this wedding or her job is done.  Have to admit that this was not Sang Hyo's shining moment.  Sympathy, thy name is not Sang Hyo.  

But her rampage leads Hae Young to have a wonderfully crazy idea.  Instead of having no wedding, he will follow what fate is obviously telling him, and just marry Hae Young.  He gets his parents and even his ex-future mother in law in on the plan (seriously so crazy that everyone is going along with this.  You don't see that often with Korean parents) and sets his plan in motion.

Lastly, he goes to convince Sang Hyo who is breaking the bad news to her staff in the ballroom.  Everyone is about to panic when Hae Young arrives saying there is going to be a wedding, and the bride will be Sang Hyo. BWAHAHAHAHA.  You have to give Hae Young (and the writers) kudos for going where no drama has gone before.  Determined to snatch back his errant wife for a round 2, Hae Young informs Sang Hyo that this would solve all her problems.  Sang Hyo gets the wedding for the hotel like she wants, and Hae Young gets the woman fate put back into his life (although in true Sang Hyo fashion, she assumes he just wants to avoid the embarrassment of being jilted.)

Things might have ended there, because really, stepping into an ongoing wedding as the "new" bride is just plain cuckoo.  But frenemy, love rival, coworker, Eun-Joo, sees an opportunity to get rid of Sang Hyo and runs with it.  She orders Sang Hyo to get married to save everyone's job.  "Look at the string quartet! If you don't get married they are done for.  What about the rest of us who will lose our jobs?  Marry for the good of the hotel!  It is your duty as a boss."  BWAHAHAHA  Eun Joo even calls for a show of hands of wedding supporters and Sang Hyo stepping in as the bride.  All the employees raise their hands and Sang Hyo is the only one against the nuptials. 

Now you might be wondering how a person can just switch out the bride with no one noticing?  Hae Young has his almost mother in law send out a group text to the bride's party saying that the wedding had been switched to a different location, then shooed everyone that had already arrived out the door.  The hotel employees then quickly replaced all the name decor with Hae Young and Sang Hyo, hoping that most people don't remember the exact names written in invitations.  Eum Joo even grabs the bride's name (written in icing) off the cake, stuffing it into her mouth, when a spry older gentleman began questioning the problem.

They would have gotten away with the ruse if not for Ms Buttinski, who vehemently objected to the change in bride (is it just me or does this girl have something to do with their initial break up/misunderstanding?  I am getting some serious vibes).  But Eum Joo was on a role, and no jealous hoochie was going to waylay her chance with Sung Gyeom the wedding.   She admits to the bride change, but then goes on to wax poetic about lost love found again, second chances, epic titanic level romance, until the crowd all has tears in their eyes.  This time when Ms Buttinski tries to object, the crowd boos her into silence.  

Hae Young arrives at the front of the wedding hall and we wait with baited breath to see if he is going to jilted for a second time.  Sang Hyo's name is called and nada (I am embarrassed to admit that I also was holding my breath waiting to see if Sang Hyo would show up).  Her name is announced for the 2nd time, the doors open, and in walks Sang Hyo, dressed to the nines and being walked down the isle by her boss (her other boss not her boyfriend boss).  She truly does look breathtaking as she walks down the isle.

Romantic looks are abounding, love is in the air, heartfelt vows are exchanged, all while the bride has her fingers crossed within the folds of her skirt.  HAHAHA, seems that Sang Hyo is still a bit bitter over being railroaded into this ruse.  It is obvious that Hae Young is alone on his newly discovered devotion to their relationship.  Poor guy. His smile slips for a second, but Hae Young has the last laugh as he pulls Sang Hyo into a steamy kiss.  

But lets not forget that this drama is supposed to be riddled with murder.  The mystery plot line takes a huge jump forward as we have our 2nd victim.  After arguing with an unseen person, blackmail coworker is bludgeoned with a candlestick in the bathroom (seriously people, I am not making this up to fit into a "Clue" theme.  It really happened.)  There is a chance that I was busy laughing at this when I should have been feeling bad for the poor deceased.  It will be interesting how this plays out in the next episode. 

For the most part, the episode has been Sung Gyeom free since he was on a work vacation while his girlfriend accidentally got married.  But our 2nd lead did have one funny part that really has to be explained or it comes across as very very weird. No, Sung Gyeom does not have a mysterious twin, doppelganger, nor is he married and have amnesia.  Instead his "wife" is from the variety program "We Got Married", in which he was one of the grooms.  Hong Jin Young does a cameo where she pretends he is her lost husband NamGoong Oppa (his actual name).  I found this cameo very enjoyable and cute.... as long as you realized the reason behind it.  Otherwise the writers just went totally wonkers in an episode that was already edging past the unhinged line in the sand.

I am looking forward to the upcoming hijinks as our newlyweds go off on their honeymoon.  Will sparks fly?  Will we finally have some actual communication between our OTP (One True Pairing).  Will I like Sung-Gyeom any better? Who knows, weirder things have happened in this drama.  

Til then,
Kmuse

Follow us on Facebook for info on all our newest recaps, posts and to join in our kdrama discussions. https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-crazy-ahjummas/336988683021748?fref=ts 

Surplus Princess Episode 2 - There Will Be Consequences

Quote of the day:  “Nobody ever did, or ever will, escape the consequences of his choices.” - Alfred A. Montapert 

 ===== --- =====

After the previous episode prologue we are back at the river way where Aileen is waiting for her chance at Ma Nyeo’s pouch which she is sure has the desired potion she needs to become human. She spots it unattended and as she makes her attempt at snatching the prize she’s spotted and captured {Uh Oh!!!}.

Psych!!!  It’s just a nightmare which makes her all the more antsy to get a hold of the potion from Ma Nyeo.

{Title Credits}

Jin Ah and her co-worker are unloading items from a van for the upcoming party. Said co-worker is complaining about doing the grunt work when Manager Kim (played by Kim Jae Hwa) appears {queue theme song to Attack On Titan – I guess this will be an ongoing gag}.

Manager Kim barks instructions and preparations for the party commences.  Mr. Apple Butt, Chef Kwon, still manages to pause long enough to send a selca (selfie for those of us in the West) to himself.  Narcissist much maybe?

Meanwhile, Hyun Myung is awaiting his interview nervously.  But, when he does go into the interview, all of the execs pretty much ignore him.  When he objects they pointedly ask why an arts major would even bother applying and is he any good.  One interviewer eggs him on to draw something to show how good he is and when he complies the execs inform him that he is good and should just stick to art.  He states to them that perhaps they aren’t looking at the picture properly.  He brings it closer and leaves it on the table upside down.  {Well that’s one way of flipping someone off}. It’s a sure bet he didn’t pass the screening process.

Jin Ah gets a frantic call from the guys at Surplus House that Hyun Myung hasn’t shown up at home and he’s not answering his calls.  They are concerned that he may have gone to the Han River to drown his sorrows and perhaps jump in.  Apparently he’s done this before.  Jin Ah is less than pleased to leave work to go find him.

Hyun Myung is at the Han river totally plastered and has just taken the first few steps towards water when something streaks across the sky and crashes behind him.  We are now back to where we left off last episode complete with soundtrack from The Terminator and Arnold Schwarzenegger's classic pose in that movie.

Aileen is ecstatic with her new legs.  Jumping around on them not fully realizing she’s butt naked from the waist down. You know mermaids don’t wear pants right?  Hyun Myung is completely nonplussed {my dictionary word of the day} and stares at her in a drunken stupor.  She knocks him out with a punch and he wakes up to her trying to steal his clothes straight off of his body. In the ensuing struggle, him to keep his clothes and she to take them, they are discovered in an extremely compromising position by Jin Ah and some neighborhood ahjummas.  The ahjummas pull him off to ‘save’ Aileen. 

Hyun Myung proceeds to plead his innocence but the ahjummas are having none of that.  While trying to call the police, Ma Nyeo walks in and carries her away on his shoulders.  Hyun Myung tries to get Jin Ah to believe him but this was the last straw.  She breaks up with him saying that coming there was a mistake and that her mother was right about him. 

Ma Nyeo hands Aileen some clothes to change into but she ends up nearly killing them stripping him of his outfit while he’s trying to drive.  {You know, at this point I really wanted to take her to task and administer a good spanking.  Aileen is acting like a very spoilt child.} She strong arms him into taking her to the party where she gets in with no problems since she has the Virtual Invite handy.

When she spots the object of her affections, Kwon Shi Kyung aka Apple Butt, she has one of those fantasy dream moments where time stands still except for them straight out of the TV show My Love From Another Star.

  

Aileen comes back to reality and tries to get Shi Kyung to remember her but Jin Ah butts in with his missing phone as if she had it the entire time.  Seems that Aileen dropped it during her “fantasy” moment and Jin Ah both recognizing her from earlier and seeing her opportunity with Shi Kyung via the dropped phone takes advantage of it fully. A fight breaks out between the two girls and Shi Kyung ends up telling Aileen that a girl like her doesn’t belong there and kicks her out.

Aileen is completely outraged and disenchanted from her “Prince” and tells Ma Nyeo she’s done and is ready to go back to the sea.  They are interrupted by another woman who she recognizes as Prilly, the other mermaid that turned human.  Prilly is distraught when she finds out that Aileen drank the last of the potion and proceeds to dissolve into before Aileen’s eyes. A shocked Aileen is then informed that she has 100 no make it 99 days (since she wasted a day chasing after Shi Kyung) to find true love or suffer the same fate as the previous mermaid for failing to do so.  Reality comes crashing down on Aileen as she realizes the consequences of her impulsive actions.

Cut to Surplus House and an adorably awkward exchange between house owner, Lee Sun Kyu, and Ma Nyeo.  Seems that they are old friends but the interaction between them is priceless.  The delivery from these two actors was amusing.  Looks like Ma Nyeo has provided her with a new identity.  She is his neice, Kim Ha Ni.  She must now live as a human for the next 99 days whilst trying to find true love or dissolve away.  (BTW – The following sets of pics had me laughing in all of its cheesy photo shopped glory.  The last one killed me.)

Ma Nyeo (Note:  apparently Ma Nyeo translates to witch or wizard in Korean) ends up taking Ha Ni (aka Aileen – I’m using her human name from now on) up to her new room in much the same way he took her away from the river the night before, carried on his shoulders. He settles her in and leaves her to get some sleep.  She goes through a couple of nightmares, one where Prilly comes back as a ghost {reference to Saeki Kayako from Ju-on and its American remake The Grudge} to kill her and the other where Shi Kyung tries to choke the life out of her.  

Ha Ni’s new roommates stop by her room to invite her to eat ramyun with them.  When she downs the whole pot they proceed to instruct her on the house rule of “Mommy’s Not Here” and we run through it like a newbie quest in a video game (Describing it will do it a disservice.  You just have to watch it, trust me on this.).  Ha Ni then asks them about true love and it’s adorable how awkward they are about it finally stating that the best person to ask is their roommate, Hyun Myung, who is currently not there.

Meanwhile Hyun Myung is desperately trying to convince Jin Ah of his innocence.  She’s having none of it though and basically blows him off. He goes home dejected and notices that there’s a new occupant in Jin Ah’s old room but he’s in no mood to be sociable. He and Ha Ni miss meeting each other by seconds.  While pondering their respective issues they finally step out onto their balconies…

T-Minus 98 days to go...

Surplus Princess Episode 1 – A Fanfic Made Real

Ever wonder what a good fanfic story would look like if it were ever made into a drama?  Oh boy it would look very much like the first episode of this drama.  My daughter, Panda, and I settled in to watch this show and I don’t think she’s recovered as there’s so much to squee and laugh over.  There are a lot of references to pop-culture from Western and Eastern media so I’m sure I didn’t catch it all.  Feel free to point out the ones I missed as I would definitely like to know.  Ok… On with the show!

The Ending is the Beginning:

We start with a lone woman on a beach barefoot at sunset.  She is reminiscing about her last 100 days, the happy memories and friends.  In a somber voice over she asks us if we are curious about why she’s standing there.  She says she’ll tell us as we see her hand clasp that of a man’s as she slowly dissolves into bubbles {fade out with Goodbye and some sad strings}.  Did I also mention that this is a retelling of The Little Mermaid Tale?  No?  Oh! My bad! OOPS!

 {Queue peppy music and animated title screen to the Han River}

Our main character is swimming and narrating that there are lots of creatures in the sea unknown to mankind but there’s one important thing missing.  A male human for her to fall in love with. She introduces herself as Aileen, the 18^th mermaid (played by Jo Bo Ah).  She’s into human smartphones (you know they are waterproof these days and she’s got a sweet one on a lanyard around her neck), celebrities, online shopping, fashion, dramas, movies, food, etc. [she’s a fangirl like me.  I like her already].

Turns out she’s a stalker and she’s been checking out this guy for six months now.  “The hottest guy on earth”, “Perfect Face”, “Perfect Body”, and an apple bottom that she wants to bite [me too, I seem to have a craving for an apple right now]. 

Her ogling of him is interrupted by the slow-mo entrance of a staffer calling out to Mr. Apple Butt who is the celebrity chef Kwon Shi Kyung (played by Song Jae Rim).  Queue back to back scenes of him preparing and cooking a very tasty looking fish as a film crew records him.  It seems to go well until he notices a missing table mat and halts filming.  He’s about ready to call it quits for the day until said staffer tears off a piece of her lace skirt to make an impromptu piece for him.  He calls for everything to be reset and he goes out onto the boat to take a break while they set up for the next shoot. 

Aileen is fine with this as he’s now closer and she can get a better look at his butt [girl after my own heart]. This sets the scene for her to duck into the water when he almost spots her. He does catch her tail breaking the water when she dives a second time.  He thinks it’s a tuna and goes to snap a picture with his phone only to lose his balance and he slips, knocking his head before falling into the water unconscious.

She goes to rescue him but not before snagging his cell and stuffing it down her top.  She proceeds to kiss him and, thanks to this being a cable drama, it’s not the press your lips variety but with tongue action.  Her reaction is priceless! "Oh yeeees!" complete with hand grab to that yummy apple butt. 

But all good things come to an end and this steamy kiss is interrupted as Shi Kyung is “rescued” by the staffer.  Aileen looks up with longing as he is pulled away to “safety”.

We move scenes to a house with the sign Surplus House posted out front (clue in on how the show’s title comes into play) which turns out to be a share house. [SIDE NOTE:  For those unfamiliar with the term, a share house is basically a house in which you live with roommates and you share the main facilities.  Sort of like a boarding house.]

We pan through a room with motivational notes posted all over the place like “Let’s get a job, Lee Hyun Myung!”, “Annual income of 60,000!”, “Don’t give up”, etc.  The room’s occupant is typing out his story.  Meet Lee Hyun Myung (played by Ohn Joo Wan).  He is a three-year veteran of job hunting who can write 70 cover letters in one sitting. During this whole scene he is “composing” [he’s typing on the keyboard like it’s a piano and can I say I was giggling through it all] his latest work as classical music is playing in the background.  Aileen, in voiceover, introduces him as an "Expert Autobiography Fabricator" and someone she was meant to meet [dun dun dun]. As he finishes we hear slow clapping and Aileen introduces her at “that witch from earlier”, Yoon Jin Ah (played by Park Ji Soo).  She’s the staffer from the previous scene.

Apparently she is Hyun Myung’s girlfriend.  He tries unsuccessfully to initiate skinship but she fends him off with the excuse that she’s got to pack as the movers are coming in the morning.  They are interrupted by the other share house roommates when she is called downstairs and presented with a cake made of Choco Pies and a congratulatory song about her leaving the house. Aileen continues her introduction of the other occupants of the house.

First up are the three etceteras. Do Ji Yong (played by Kim Min Kyo) who is an Ivy League School graduate but ruined his life with playing video games.  Next is Big (played by Nam Joo Hyuk) and Aileen says his real name is a secret.

Then there is the owner, Lee Sun Kyu (the actor has the same name as his character?).  She introduces the final roommate (played by Kim Seul Gi) with “I. Won’t. Tell. You.” It’s plain that this roommate does not like Jin Ah at all as she passes by and gives her the cold shoulder bump.

Afterwards the three male roommates are taking bets on Hyun Myung and Jin Ah breaking up which looks like a sure fire deal after we see her shrug him off to take a call from Shi Kyung.  Hyun Myung muses that it seems like they are separating even though she is just moving across the river.

We move onto one of K-Drama’s prerequisite scenes.  The brooding in the shower with the half-nekkid man and as Aileen put it earlier, Oh yeeees!  Shi Kyung is thinking about that underwater kiss and is wondering if he dreamt it up.  When a delivery man shows up with his newly cleaned clothes, he’s given a shiny bit of something that looks valuable they found while cleaning it.  Flash over to Aileen and it turns out that said shiny bit was one of her scales that came loose.  It’s really cute that she uses a starfish as a band-aide. [He he he]

Aileen is attempting to get into his phone and when she does she goes gaga all over the pictures on it.  She insists to herself that this is not an invasion of privacy as she is just attempting to get information to return the phone to its owner [riiiiiiiiiiiight].  She gets a Tweet alert and it’s Mr. Apple Butt stating "It was love. I want to find her and my cell." [OMO]

When she intercepts an invite on Mr. Apple Butt’s phone for a swanky party (O M G the ad for it is über cheesy) she decides she needs a pair of legs to attend.  Can’t dance on a tail ya know! 

We next see her swimming towards a multicolored cove and someone is humming Disney’s “Part of Your World”.  There are a bazillion wine bottles floating around and here we meet Aileen’s unnie, Sevelyn the 17th mermaid who apparently is a huge lush.  Apparently Sevelyn as she had let slip that her friend Prilly had managed to become human after finding out how to do so from her and Aileen tries to begs for unnie to tell her how.  With much begging and the promise of a purchase of Ballantine's 30 Year Old she’s told the secret.  Aileen must look for Ahn Ma Nyeo who turns out to be a creepy looking man in a hooded trench coat.  Ma Nyeo denies having any potion that would turn her human (as he clutches his belt conspicuously) and sends her away as he exits in a cheesy way [sooo cheesy].

The next morning finds us in Jin Ah’s new apartment as Hyun Myung stops by to help.  In the midst of their horseplay her mom pops in and she stuffs him in a closet [boy oh boy is he ‘flexible’].  Ms. Mom lectures Jin Ah to drop her loser of a boyfriend and hook up with one of the men in the building since they have six figure salaries here.  It’s why she got the place for her to begin with.  Hyun Myung topples out, excuses himself and leaves [aww].

Later that night he’s fielding one rejection text after another as his roommates are pestering him when he gets a text for a second interview.  Celebrations all around!

Meanwhile, Jin Ah “coincidentally” runs into Shi Kyung while she’s out running.  He ignores her for the most part until they share an elevator at the apartment building.  He apologizes to her since he tends not to notice people when he’s concentrating on something.  He even offers her thanks for the save and quick thinking that day.  Jin Ah tells him she just moved into the building (flash back to her seeing him while she and her mom were out looking for a place and she insists on moving in here…)  [Uh Oh. That scheming little wench!]  After she exits on her floor we see him look at his reflection and there’s this ominous vibe I’m getting [shudders].

Switch to the etceteras giving Hyun Myung interview tips to help him get the job.  It’s adorbs but he ends up having a nightmare involving his heart bursting at the interview [ewww].  He spends the rest of the night practicing.  As he’s walking to his interview the next morning he calls Jin Ah and cheerly tells her all of the things he’ll buy but she hangs up on him when she spots Shi Kyung missing the bit about a proposal from Hyun Myung.  He greets her this time and even mentions that he prefers her previous perfume to the one she’s wearing now.  As Jin Ah and another co-worker are gabbing about the encounter {queue in the opening song to the anime Attack on Titan} their supervisor peers over the cubical partition (like one of the colossal titans from that anime) to scold them. [This is when my daughter, Panda, fell out of her chair laughing so hard]

Meanwhile, Aileen has been camping out at Ma Nyeo’s stopping grounds waiting to bribe him with an antique vase and a crude ton of pearls.  She ends up mugging him and near drowning him for the ‘potion’ when he proves uncooperative. 

Ma Nyeo begs her not to drink it as he cries that it’s not the potion.  Of course she ignores him completely and  proceeds to down said pilfered potion and we queue in the transformation from mermaid to human à la Sailor Moon style.

She then plummets to earth like a comet and we pan to her crouched like a terminator.

...  [bwa ha ha ha ha ha ha]

  

=============

Unnie's Wednesday Write Up: It's those little things.

Before I get in to this week's WWU, I have an update on my friend, the one I told you about in last week's WWU, who had started watching The King 2 Hearts...she finished it.   Even though she is insanely busy...once the show hooked her, she just couldn't NOT watch.  I tried to explain to her that it had that effect on all of us.

I really did enjoy getting text messages that read like this....

"This better end well!"
and
"They better not kill any of my fave characters!!"
and
"You stink!!!  I was hoping Eun Shi Kyung was just playing along with the psychopath." 
immediately followed by...
"Okay that's better.  He's a good guy again.  Darn it.  Hubby is home.  I gotta go."  

(THAT ONE MADE ME LOL!!!  Especially the "hubby" part. ^.^)

Then she sent me text messages blaming ME for HER not getting anything done. Followed by...
"Stinking K-dramas making me cry."

I imagine you know why....  (esp if you have seen the show.)  Yes, she had finally finished the show & I recommended she start A Gentleman's Dignity... a nice, fast paced & funny show to help her get past the intense drama of TK2H.  I'm a good AddiKtion Therapist don't you think?

BTW all of those texts were shared w/ Dongsaeng as they arrived, & she & I laughed & laughed at my friend & her K2H angst.   Such a great friend I am!!  Ahhh....the good things I do for those I love the mostest!  ;)P

Now, you are all probably wondering what I'm going to talk about this week?  I actually knew what I wanted to talk about earlier but I've been trying to organize my thoughts...I tend to have a million things going through my mind at a time.  I don't know if that's a "Me" thing or a "Girl" thing.   So the organization process is time consuming.  The twisted ways my mind works can be slightly terrifying.  If you guys knew half the things that pop in there you'd be worried for me.  Or maybe you'd be more worried for my family. ^^

Anyway, this week I did a little research among my fellow AddiKts on my FB Unnie page & on the TCA FB page, regarding my idea for this week's WWU.

My question was...

Knowing how much I heart the "wrist grab", especially for regular "Unnie" readers, as if there is such a thing,  what other things do you guys heart the most about K Dramas that you can't see in US (or any country you live in) Television?  Name some of those little things that make your breath catch or heart/tummy flutter?

Oh my the response was awesome!!  Thank you so much guys for telling me your favorite things.  I loved all the answers!  Chincha!!

So we've all decided right?  That it's those little things in a K Drama that we love the most!  The ones that are predominantly missing from our own TV shows.  And yes, for me a big one is the "wrist grab".  There are so many different variations of my favorite thing.  That moment when the female walks away & the man grabs her by the wrist & spins her to face him, either in anger or in desperation!  There is a passion in any of those scenarios for the Wrist Grab that always makes me happy.  Or when she is walking, not necessarily away, & he walks up beside her, grabs her wrist & walks/drags her away faster.  OR...  In the middle of a conversation he just up & grabs her wrist & drags her off.  Sigh.  Heart all fluttery & skin all goose bumpy at just the thought.  Now why do I like the wrist grab so much?  Especially when it's really quite chauvinistic!  Some man just walks up & over powers the girl & off she goes following in his wake?!?  The feminist in me thinks it's terrible & should be abolished.  She's screaming at me about equality.  Don't worry I came equipped w/ duct tape & am happy to report the feminist has been quieted.  But let's face it I am not a quiet, shy, subdue-able type of girl myself.  I'm not exactly sure how I would handle the wrist grab in real life.  I guess it would directly relate to the hotness of the guy trying to drag me away.

I am nothing if I am  not always honest with myself & you guys.  Something I am sure you wish I wouldn't do quite so often.

Like this wrist grab moment from the end of Lie To Me ep 9

Hyun Ki Joon shows up during GOng Ah Jung's blind date & drags her off as she leaves the ladies room.
Total Squeee moment for Unnie.  

I have other favorite romantic devices as well...

I love it when the male jumps in front of the female & shields her from something unpleasant.  Either something falling or a someone speeding past on either bike or in a car.  Even if the thing they are being shielded from is 20 ft away & is in no way dangerous.  Its so sweet & protective & selfless & it shows how much he cares.  And it has the added benefit of putting them in each other's bubbles.  Choi Min Ho from SHINee did it admirably well in ep 2 of To The Beautiful You.  So romantic.  I love the look on his face as he gets closer to her.  At this point he's not supposed to be aware that she's a she!  I think he knew it all along though.

Giggle.  Now comes the next favorite...the stare.  O.O  OMO!!  That moment when two sets of eyes meet, hold & look deep.  When faces are close together & breaths are mingling.  {{all fluttery again}}  You can see they have just realized how close their bodies are to each other.  That they are or could touch each other, if they just leaned closer or reached out a hand.  And you can see in their eyes that they want to do that very thing.  And you the viewer are at home, on the edge of your seat, eyes wide & wondering, are they going to touch?  Are they going to kiss?  And you find yourself leaning in ... hoping.  And while it can be frustrating {{on so many levels}} when they don't give in to that blatant desire, it also makes it sincerely sexier, imho.    

A lot of you loved the piggy back!  Which made me love all of you so much more!  The piggy back.  That most certainly does not happen here, very often.  The piggy back's innocent way of putting the two leads very close to each other & still keeping it innocent & clean.  You hardly ever see the male lead pick the female lead or any female up in his arms in front of his chest.  It's such a gasp moment when they do that but every show out there has at least one piggy back scene & it's considered the norm.  Plus, the piggy back has the added benefit of placing their faces very close together too.  One of my favorite piggy back scenes is in PK when Oh Ha Ni has been drinking, with the family, in her father's restaurant & Baek Seung Jo gets stuck piggy backing her home.  I love that the mom kept forcing him into situations like that.  It seems innocent enough...until he mocks her flat chest & her inability to be able to feed her kids like that!

LOL  Obviously there are some things that the piggy back allows the male leads to know about the female leads.  The ampleness  of her chest, or lack thereof, being one of them.

There were several of you who told me you liked it when one of the leads got sick & the other would immediately go into nurse mode w/ cold compresses & caring for the patient round the clock.  Or the wanting to make sure that the other has eaten.  Things like this hardly ever happen in real life.  When I am sick, CA rarely sits by my bed & waits on me hand & foot.  There are no cold compresses on my forehead  & he doesn't make sure I take my "medicine".  Of course I'm okay with that as long as he keeps the kids away from me, I count myself lucky.

One reader loves that it is such a big deal when they touch hands.  The wrist grab I think goes a long with this but I have to admit it's one of my favorite things about K Dramas too.  Touching is just not that big of a deal in the US.  Men & women hug here, even just as friends, all the time.  We shake hands regularly & we high five.  Touching is just part of being an American.  Of course it hasn't always been this way.   It used to be a taboo thing here too.  Maybe, like the US, this will relax & go away after a few more decades in Korea, I hope not, but you just never know.  In the US touching is a casual thing & doesn't mean much.  Unless it's in an intimate moment or way, then it matters.  But those intimate moments & ways are becoming far too common even in public nowadays.  Which makes me sad.  A friend of our family told us that he was at Six Flaggs with his wife & kids, not too long ago.  He actually had to go up to couple, in their late teens, who were making out right there in the park, surrounded by tons of families (including families with young kids, like his) and ask them to please knock it off!  Explaining, to the young couple, that his kids shouldn't have to see that.  He laughed when he said that everywhere his family went that day, they saw that couple & every time that couple saw him, they would jump apart guiltily.  Giggle...good for our friend!!

Certain things should be kept special & private.  A hug in public, holding hands, even a peck on the cheek, I am fine with all of that.  Making out, swallowing each other's faces &/or groping?  No thank you.  I do not want to know that much about your personal life.  I think that's why I love those little sweet intimate moments in K Drama.  The leads always look embarrassed & shy & reserved like this is a big deal & it is & should be treated that way.  Sigh I heart that awkwardness most of all.

I still don't like the "Squish Kiss" though.  It just doesn't feel real.  If a man/guy kisses a girl & she doesn't want to be kissed she would either slap him or shove him away.  Not stand there like a dead fish, eyes wide open, not moving.  And if she does want to be kissed she's going to kiss him back.  Not stand there like a dead fish, eyes wide open, not moving.  ^.^  You see where I am going with that right?  K Drama writers & directors let's do away with the "Squish Kiss".   It's not natural or normal.

But let's keep the "wrist grab", the hand holding big deal, the deep penetrating stare into each other's eyes, at each other's delicious looking lips, the piggy back, the caring for the sick lead, the feeding of the leads, & another favorite...the back hug.  I love it when one lead, doesn't matter which, embraces the other from behind.  It's such a sweet way to show you care & to confess your feelings.  If you back hug, you love.  And like the touching/holding of the hand it's such a big deal!  Eyes widen, gasps can be heard & the leads are touching.  Sigh.  So romantic.  {{Yup all fluttery again}}

They aren't much.  They are simple & small & little & they add up to a whole lot of romance & passion & beauty.  I heart those little things in my K Dramas that make me all fluttery in my heart & tummy.  That make me sigh wistfully & longingly.  Thank you to the inventors of these wonderful devices used by so many Kdramas that have helped to ensnare me in their addiKtive web.

I hope I didn't leave out your favorite romantic device but if I did, please write to me & tell me what it is I forgot to add.  You can either leave a comment on this post, the TCA FB page, My FB page, the TCA Twitter page or My Twitter page.

Again I want to thank everyone who answered my little question online.  And I appreciate the support & the love.  What should I leave you guys with that kind of goes along with my topic today?  Hmmm....  How about a little OST sung by Jang Jae In for Arang & the Magistrate?  Since I am reviewing that show currently & loving it too!

Have a wonderful week AddiKts.  See you online!

Saranghamnida,