happy birthday to my favourite guy, the guy ever of all time, my artistic muse for three years and counting and the Ultimate ult bias, lee felix yongbok! i haven't done as much art of him this year as i'd like, but it's fine because he's a living work of art all on his own. i've been so proud of everything he's achieved this year and i'm sure he'll keep making me a proud lee felix enjoyer next year too. keep being kind and sweet and silly and talented and iconic, keep serving hashtag unisex hashtag vibes, and keep being my beautiful angel yongbokkie 🥰❤️
seokryu's 'appa' asks a simple question — but this is what i adore most about love next door: it keeps its story & characters grounded. why IS it so hard to just be alive — why does it take so much strength to live through a regular day, (with its regular disappointments); just like everyone else? why do your dreams — small and self-effacing as they may be in the palms of your hands — require so much courage to create in real life?
love next door is an ode to the everyday — the quiet trials and treaures that a normal life holds within it. just because something is mundane doesn't make it any less magic — any less important. seok-ryu's 'appa' just wants to look after his family — be a valued member of it. seokryu herself isn't extravagant in what she wants out of life — her dream is simple too: she just wants to cook.
but just because a dream is prosaic, does it make it any less precious? any less full of longing?
love next door brings so much compassion and subtle grace to the silent experiences of a completely normal life — falling in love with your best friend and not knowing what to do about it. joining a cooking class in your thirties after years of meaningless work because finding your own passion is a miracle at any age. thinking you know a person inside out because you've witnessed every step they've taken since childhood — and then finding out that they can still take you by surprise with the complex intricacies of their behavior.
there's a gentle reverence in the way love next door handles its subject matter — as if the show itself truly believes that simplicity is sacred. that a commonplace life is worth contemplation — deep exploration; empathy, understanding.
the ordinary world is where most of us live. and that's what makes its documentation — the description of its tiny heartbreaks; the daily cuts and bruises of every-day life, the small sparks of joy, connection, sustenance — so beautiful. so necessary.
this is what love next door does so well, and with such infinite tenderness. 🤍
I have no right to be a father, do I? Gosh, I have a beautiful daughter, but I've never bought you a nice outfit. I couldn't even send you any allowance when you were studying overseas.