#Korean isn’t even her first language since she’s Taiwanese!!

[goldennika]

not to be all dramatic on main but a MOA i met at their dome show in Osaka last year added me to her close friends list/stories on instagram 🥺

[princessjungeun]

I’ll Wait: Tzuyu x Reader

Request: Tzuyu helping a relatively new Taiwanese JYP trainee struggling with Korean, and her being proud when you debut (+fall in love.)

When you moved from Taiwan to Korea it was a very hard switch for you. First of all the language barrier was undeniably the worst part. You didn’t understand anything anyone said to you. The only word you knew was no because you heard it so often from staff.

To avoid having to talk to people you stayed in the practice rooms as much as you could. You danced for hours on hours, never taking breaks for snacks no matter how loud your stomach growled.

You restarted your song and danced to it once again, your whole body feeling like it’d give out any second. At the end you noticed your phone was ringing from across the room. You checked and saw a message from a staff member.

You’re wanted upstairs. Please arrive now.

It amazed you how they had no problem sending you messages in Mandarin but had a problem when you spoke it. With quickness you hurriedly put all of your stuff in your bag, and fixed your messy hair before heading upstairs.

“Miss L/N please come in.” Your CEO asked you politely. You understood he called your name but nothing else. Thankfully he waved you inside, indicating you should sit down. He told you “we know you are having trouble getting accustomed to this new environment. We are assigning a mentor to you in order for you to improve your Korean as well as gain confidence here.” You picked up about three words but you nodded nonetheless.

You heard a small “hello” from the door behind you. When you turned around it was none other than Chou Tzuyu. She was so beautiful, you’d been to a Twice concert before but seeing her this close was like a dream.

She greeted you and said politely in Mandarin “have you eaten today?” You shook your head and she held her hand out so she could lead you out. You bowed and thanked your CEO before following her. She led you to a separate room and asked you what you wanted to eat. You let her decide since you aren’t really picky.

The second you two started talking you broke down into tears. Tzuyu isn’t the best with feelings but she didn’t hesitate to hug you. “What’s wrong?” She asked rubbing your back softly. You responded “I’ve been here for four months and I haven’t understood more than five words. Nobody can understand me when I try to speak Korean either. I just get yelled at and I don’t even know what to fix because I can’t understand.” You sobbed in her arms, shaking violently.

She held you tightly letting you let out everything you’ve been holding in for so long. She knew exactly how you felt. She’d been in Korea since she was around 13 and she was still improving her Korean at 20.

•

•

•

From that day on Tzuyu made it a point to visit you when she could. Twice was always extremely busy but she always made time for you. Her members swore she loved you more than she loved them. When her group had long breaks between promotions she was with you in practice rooms. Whether you two were dancing together or she was helping you practice Korean, she was always by your side.

It was now nine months since Tzuyu first met you, the small scared teenager who couldn’t speak one word of Korean. Now she watched you as you confidently danced to an advanced choreography you received the day before. She sat with a proud smile when you finished. Hugging you tightly she said “you did so well! I’m so proud of you. Let’s take a break.”

She led you upstairs to the roof of the JYP building. You checked if the coast was clear because Tzuyu wasn’t allowed to go places without staff due to recent security concerns. You walked around to make sure nobody was up there before waving her towards you.

You both looked out on the city, people below looked like ants. She pulled your hand and you looked at her “hmmmm?” She responded “I have to tell you something.” You nodded and she continued “I like you. as in, more than a friend way.”

You responded “yeah right. Don’t play like that Tzu.” When her facial expression didn’t change you realized she was being serious, she was actually confessing to you.

“Wait really?” You couldn’t believe that the girl you’ve had a celebrity crush on since you saw her on Sixteen actually liked you. Then the realization hit you, “we can’t be together, I’m still a trainee.”

Tzuyu snaked her arm around your waist and you leaned into her side. She softly responded “then i’ll wait.” You internally told yourself not to get your hopes up though. Tzuyu and you both knew it would be months if not years until you were able to debut.

*time skip of 8 months*

Today not only marks your 21st month as a member of JYP Entertainment, it also marks the day of your debut. The past eight months you pushed yourself to damn near the breaking point. You spent many nights in tears wanting to give up or walking awkwardly from sore muscles. But nevertheless you persevered which earned you a spot in JYP’s newest girl group.

You and Tzuyu weren’t able to talk very much due to Twice having a comeback, promotions, then world tour. Despite this she managed to text or call you at least twice a week. You still had feelings for her it was undeniable, but did she still have feelings for you? You weren’t sure.

“Y/N i’m nervous.” Your maknae paces back and forth around the room. You responded “it’s going to be fine just breathe. We’ll be there right by your side ok? You worked to hard for this to be scared.” You gave her the advice Tzuyu gave you the night before. The younger girl nodded and hugged you before running off to your oldest member.

“Wonder where I’ve heard that one before.” A familiar voice behind you spoke up. You whipped around seeing Tzuyu with a big smile. “Tzuyu!” You hugged her and asked “what’re you doing here? I though you all had a show tonight.” She responded “it got pushed to next month, they’re renovating the arena. But there’s no time to talk about that. You have to be on stage in a minute.” She pushed you lightly towards your members.

•

•

•

The debut stage went really well. You and your members were all in synch and nobody messed up. You were even complemented on your Korean skills for being so good.

When you got back to the dressing room you saw Tzuyu waiting for you. She immediately pulled you into her arms and praised you. “You did so well Y/N. I’m so proud of you!” She looked at you with heart eyes.

She wrapped her arms around your neck and slowly leaned in, placing a kiss on your lips. When she pulled away immediately your whole face turned red. You asked “you still like me?” She responded “I did.” Your face fell “Did?” She nodded and continued “until I fell in love with you. I love you Y/N...will you be my girlfriend?” You nodded a little too enthusiastically making her laugh. She hugged you closely and and said “I’ve been waiting so long for this. I love you Y/N.” You smiled against her “I love you too Tzuyu.”

[letterboxd]

How I Letterboxd #3: Dave Vis

If you are one of the thousands of Letterboxd completists attempting to log every film on our official top 250, you have Dave Vis to thank for keeping that list current. He tells us why he adopted ownership of the list, how he felt when Parasite “dethroned” The Godfather, the curious case of A Dog’s Will, and several Dutch filmmakers worthy of discovery.

You wear your tenure proudly on your profile (“Member since 12/11/2011”). How did you come across Letterboxd way back then? I joined in the beta days when I got an invitation in November 2011 from a good friend who knew I was into film. Up to this date, I have no idea how she got a beta invitation for a movie geek website from New Zealand, but I’m happy she did!

Here’s the $49 question: How do you Letterboxd? I joined because I found it useful to keep track of everything I watched. At that point, I was probably still ticking off films from IMDb’s Top 250, and Letterboxd was a cool way to make other lists and see how I was progressing. When I started using the site more often, I also got to follow more users and enjoyed reading their takes on films. I don’t follow a lot of people, just a few that I know in real life and some other early adopters of the site whose opinions of film I got to value.

Talk us through your profile favorites. What spoke to you about these four films? The pragmatic reason for these four is that they were the last films I watched that got full marks from me. So the four favorites on my profile keep changing as I come across more films that I think deserve five stars. About the current ones: Jaws, of course, is an absolute classic, maybe even Spielberg’s greatest. How he creates that much tension with minimal exposition is masterful. Blade Runner 2049 baffled me, especially on an aesthetic level. I love how the story slowly unravels in probably one of the best world-building efforts of the last couple of years. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring doesn’t need much explanation, I think. Peter Jackson did what was generally thought impossible and in a way that had me walking out of the cinema in awe of the spectacle and production design. Last but not least, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind. I’m a huge fan of the Studio Ghibli films and this one, [as well as] being the studio’s unofficial first, is probably my favorite. You can just tell that they worked years to get Hayao Miyazaki’s life’s work to the big screen.

Let’s get down to brass tacks: for the past six and a half years, you’ve been running the Official Letterboxd Top 250, one of our most popular and important lists. What prompted you to start the list? Did you think you’d be keeping it going this long? At least part of the credit goes to someone else on Letterboxd, because even my list is a cloned one! A great deal of thanks goes to a member called The Caker Baker, who sadly isn’t part of the community anymore, for having the idea of doing this list even before me. On the exact day Letterboxd introduced a sorting option by average rating on the Films page, he created the first top 250 list.

I decided to clone that list [Dave has archived it here], because I wanted to filter out the documentaries, shorts and miniseries. As long as I am interested in film and won’t have completed the list, I do see myself keeping it. I feel the overall quality of the list is outstanding and for my taste and film-watching experience it’s probably the best combination of blockbuster hits, timeless Hollywood classics, non-English spoken gems, and some pretty obscure entries.

What’s involved in keeping the top 250 up-to-date? What’s the hardest thing about it? Have you ever found the responsibility a burden—your ankle chained to Letterboxd each week? (We’re grateful!) These days it isn’t much of a bother at all, actually. I’m still so grateful for you guys introducing the ability to sort lists by average rating when editing them a while back. That was a huge relief, I can tell you! And apart from the odd comment when I’m a bit late on my weekly update or when I’m on a well-deserved holiday (yes, even the ankle chain comes off once in a while), I don’t feel like it’s a burden at all.

Let’s unpack it a bit. What are the best films you’ve discovered because of the list? Shoutout to my choices: A Special Day, Harakiri and The Man Who Sleeps. Harakiri is an excellent choice! If it wasn’t for Letterboxd’s top list, I would probably not even know about it today, although it also cracked IMDb’s top 250 last year. What a beautiful film. If I have to name two other, one would be The Cranes Are Flying. I’ve rarely seen a film about war being depicted so beautifully. The other is It’s Such a Beautiful Day, the animation by Don Hertzfeldt about a stick figure you get to care deeply about in a time span of just over an hour. Very different films that, without Letterboxd, the chances are next to zero that I would have checked either of them out. Joining a Kickstarter to finance my own Blu-ray edition of the latter was special too.

Béla Tarr’s 1994 masterpiece ‘Sátántangó’.

So, what’s your percentage-seen of the top 250? Which films rank highest on your list of shame? Are there any that you don’t think you’ll ever watch? At this moment I’m at 175 of 250, so 70 percent. I rarely consider films as being on a ‘list of shame’, but as I scroll through the unseen ones, there are a few that stand out. La Dolce Vita and Sátántangó [Editor’s note: recently re-released in 4K, nudge nudge] are ones that I feel I should have watched by now. Both are magnum opuses from legendary foreign filmmakers. Don’t really know why I haven’t though, but all in good time. Any that I think I’ll never watch? There’s not much I wouldn’t watch, but some are just so daunting in their runtime, that I’m not sure if I will ever feel up to the task (yes, La Flor, I’m looking at you). Probably also the reason I never popped Sátántangó in.

Has the way Letterboxd’s membership has changed and grown affected what’s in the top 250 in any interesting or unexpected ways? That’s not a very easy question to answer, because different people will be surprised about different things. However, you do see a trend—surprising or not—of traditional western cinema classics giving way to more non-English language films doing well on the list. Asian and Brazilian films have skyrocketed to great heights, often at the expense of western classics. Films that are traditionally doing great at IMDb, such as Pulp Fiction or The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, were in Letterboxd’s top ten for a long time, but have both dropped out of the top twenty. Beloved classics among film critics such as Citizen Kane, Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans and Casablanca aren’t even in the top 100 anymore.

We now have a top ten with three Japanese films, one Taiwanese, one Russian, one Brazilian and a South Korean film at the very top. The only English spoken films left there are the two Godfathers and 12 Angry Men. I do tend to suspect that the growing community causes more diversity while also fuelling the more traditional moviegoers to broaden their interests. I personally think that’s a great development.

How did you feel when Parasite overtook The Godfather to become Letterboxd’s highest-rated film of all time? Do you think it’ll ever sink at this point? To say I was surprised is quite the understatement. For something to even come close to The Godfather’s record borders on sacrilege, let alone dethroning it. What you usually see is that new movies with overly positive reviews enter the list’s higher ranks with a bang, but when they are introduced to a bigger crowd, they slowly descend. For example, fellow acclaimed Best Picture nominees 12 Years A Slave, Her, Call Me By Your Name and Roma all peaked in the top twenty and only Call Me By Your Name is still in the list, at number 232 for now.

In these days of ready availability it is extremely hard to create something that has such a large following. That’s why this takeover by Parasite is so extraordinary. Seeing it rise day-by-day—even after the masses took it in—was something I didn’t think possible. I, for one, am very slow to watch new films, so when I got to watch it, it was already in first position. Safe to say my expectation level was through the roof, which probably wasn’t really fair. While I thought it was an excellent film, I personally wouldn’t rank it among my favorites. However, it’s not only the highest-ranked film on Letterboxd, but also the most popular one [a measure of the amount of activity for a film, regardless of rating]! So don’t expect to see it sink lower any time soon.

The top 250 is home to the largest comment section on the platform. Congrats! What’s monitoring that mammoth thread like? Thank you! Although that’s hardly an achievement on my part. I have to be honest, I don’t read everything in the comments section anymore. I try to keep up as much as possible, in order to respond to people who have an actual question. However, when I sign in in the morning and see dozens of new notifications, most probably about A Dog’s Will being in the top ten or about recency bias or about objective quality versus subjective quality, I let it pass me by every so often.

What is your take on A Dog’s Will’s rise to Letterboxd stardom? (At the time of writing, the 2000 Brazilian film from director Guel Arraes holds the number eight spot in the top 250.) Ah, there it is: the elephant in the room… My honest answer is a politically correct one, but also the truth: I haven’t seen it yet, so it’s impossible to pass judgment. However, from the comments section on the top 250, it seems clear that there are two camps: the Brazilians, who adore the film and continually claim the importance it in their cultural heritage. And there’s the other group, mostly non-Brazilians of course, who think it’s a fine film at best, but in their opinion not deserving of a top-ten spot. I’m quite impartial: if the statistics say that it is one of the best-rated films of the Letterboxd community, why would it not deserve to be there? I am curious though if more non-Brazilians will see it and if so, if that will have a significant effect on its rating. We can only wait and see.

Are there any films you’re surprised to have stayed in the list for so long? Conversely, what are some films that we’ll be surprised to hear have never made the list? If I have to name one film that I’m surprised about, it’s one I haven’t seen yet: Paddington 2. Every time I scroll past it, I find myself asking: “wow, this one still in?” It’s probably because I haven’t seen it, but it always strikes me as an odd one. I really have to seek it out some time. Some films that might shock people never having made it… Well, if you look at IMDb’s list for reference, you could say it’s shocking that a film like Forrest Gump never made it onto the list, but that might not be as much of a shock to Letterboxd members. Other popular crowd pleasers that never made it include E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Gladiator, all of Disney’s non-Pixar animated classics, and one of the films that also sparked my interest in movies, The Usual Suspects.

Dave has not seen ‘Paddington 2’.

I’ve actually been working hard on completing the list during quarantine and I finished it yesterday. Has anyone else gotten to 100 percent yet or am I the first? I have no idea, to be honest! There will probably be others who have, but I wouldn’t be able to name one. I suspect Jakk might have reached 100 percent at some point.

My completist streak will need a new avenue. What are your next most essential top lists? If you ever feel up for a challenge, I recommend Top10er’s 1001 Greatest Movies of All Time. He combined the average ratings of critics and users from IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes, Metacritic and Letterboxd, and then weighted and tweaked the results with general film data from several services. I have no idea how, but it’s a terrific list. Also, the directors’ favorites lists that are on Letterboxd are awesome. Edgar Wright’s 1,000 favorites and Guillermo del Toro’s recommendations are especially worth your while.

The top 250 list is the tip of the iceberg for the lists on your account. What is it you enjoy about keeping ranked lists? It’s a compulsion. I just really enjoy making lists, ranking films by certain directors, franchises or studios. Not really useful, mostly just fun to do! And I’m not the only one, it seems. Although, of course, lists like the Letterboxd Top 250 will always be an inspiration for finding well-rated films I haven’t seen yet.

Which films got you hooked on cinema? I do have a few titles that were important in terms of my film-watching development. Films like Terminator 2: Judgment Day and Jurassic Park came out when I was an early teenager and those were the ones luring me to the cinema to see and experience things you just couldn’t in the real world, both with groundbreaking special effects—I’m a sucker for those. Not much later, titles like The Shawshank Redemption and Pulp Fiction were popular and that’s probably around the time that IMDb’s list got my attention. That top 250 gets a lot of criticism, but the overall quality is fine and for me it was the perfect step in broadening my film-watching.

So, for a long time I watched a lot of films on that list and went to the cinema for your usual blockbusters, probably until Letterboxd arrived. That’s when I started watching the artsier stuff and foreign cinema of which, of course, all classics eluded me up till then. It was films like Seven Samurai, Persona and Werckmeister Harmonies that sparked that particular period. Now I just watch everything that comes my way that seems interesting or entertaining, from the new Marvel instalment to classic Godard.

Tell us about the one and only movie you’ve given a half-star. Ha, that’s an odd one… Once there was a challenge on the site that you could ask a fellow member to pick the next ten films for them to watch. I participated once and, of course, there would be underseen gems or personal favorites on that list, but also one or two that would be almost unwatchable. In my list that was Santa and the Ice Cream Bunny. If that title alone doesn’t give away how bad it was, watching the first five minutes will.

In your opinion, what’s the most underrated film according to Letterboxd average ratings? One that comes to mind, which was in the top 250 once, but has dropped substantially in the last few years, is Gravity. I also have a list where I collect all the films that were once in Letterboxd’s top 250 and it’s at the very bottom there. For me, seeing that film in a theater is what cinema is all about—finding new ways to immerse your audience into a movie experience they have never had before. Oh, did I mention I’m a sucker for special effects?

Dave is a sucker for special effects, including those in Alfonso Cuarón‘s ‘Gravity’ (2013).

As a Dutchman, please educate us: what are the greatest Dutch films people should see? The Netherlands doesn’t really have a thriving movie industry that brings its films across borders. If I have to give the essential tip, it would be Spoorloos, which was remade starring Kiefer Sutherland and Sandra Bullock and was not half as good. Other than that I would recommend Paul Verhoeven’s early work, such as Soldaat van Oranje and Turks Fruit, and the two Dutch films that won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, 1986’s De Aanslag and 1997’s Karakter. And to top it off, I want to mention two Dutch filmmakers worth your time, Alex van Warmerdam, director of De Noorderlingen, and Martin Koolhoven, director of Oorlogswinter.

What comfort movies are you watching whilst in quarantine? Are you working on any viewing projects? I actually am in a viewing project at the moment. One of mine and my wife’s guilty pleasures is superhero movies! So currently we are, again, on a Marvel Cinematic Universe rewatch streak. They just provide a wonderful form of escapism and are definitely deserving of the term comfort movies. Some are better than others of course, but the perspective of rewatching The Avengers, Thor: Ragnarok or Guardians of the Galaxy after a while still tends to fill me with excitement. In a way, there’s still a bit of the twelve-year-old in me that was so thrilled to see T2 or Jurassic Park.

How do you plan on inducting your kids into the cinephile life? Well, most important is that they just enjoy going to the movies like I did when I was young. Let’s hope we will be able to do so again in the near future. They are still young, but their access to screen time with Netflix, Disney+ and (mind-numbingly stupid clips on) YouTube is so different than the days when we were young. So having them watch some Ghibli classics is already quite a step. And then I think the rest should come naturally. If not, so be it.

Which, for you, are the most useful features on Letterboxd? Did you know they have a list with the 250 best rated narrative feature films? That’s basically all you need to know… All kidding aside, just reading reviews once in a while by fellow members whose opinions I value is still the heart of the service to me. That and the statistics pages. And browsing other lists.

Does anyone in your real life know that your list is kind of a Letterboxd big deal? Not really! Mostly because I don’t exactly feel that way about it. I mean: my wife knows, but other than that it’s pretty much still my pet project. To me, it’s still just a film enthusiast’s list that so happened to become the site’s official top 250. I do have to say that it is humbling to see the numbers of new followers every day—especially when Letterboxd mentions the list on her social accounts—and to realize that apparently almost 23,000 people around the globe have taken a liking to it.

Please name three other members you recommend we follow. Fellow countryman and longtime member DirkH. He is not as active as he was before, but writes beautifully personal reviews, always with his trademark witty humor or sometimes cheeky sarcasm, not always to the liking of everyone. You all got to know Lise in the first How I Letterboxd, but I’d definitely also recommend following her other half Jonathan White. His reviews are great, he knows so much about film and is always willing to share his thoughts or answer questions. And damn, that man can rhyme. Then there’s Mook, if only for his franchise lists. Check out his MCU list, it’s my go-to place when I want to read up on anything Marvel.

Related content

Official Top 100 Documentary Feature Films

Official Top 100 Narrative Features by Women Directors

Letterboxd’s ‘Official’ Top 50 of 2020

Several of the films mentioned in this interview—Sátántangó, La Flor—are (at the time of writing) available for virtual screenings. The details are in our Art House Online list.

[a-cai-jpg]

a drama review you never asked for

So yesterday, I started a drama by accident. 

before we begin, here is a little glossary: Itazura Na Kiss = Playful Kiss (Korean), It Started with a Kiss (Taiwanese), Love in Tokyo (Japanese) Naoki = the main male lead in Itazura Na Kiss, stoic, bitchy brainiac whom everyone is in love with Kotoko = the main female lead in Itazura Na Kiss, a clutz, sucks at school, is in love with Naoki Yanmo = the main male lead in Le Coup de Foudre Qiaoyi = the main female lead in Le Coup de Foudre

I say by accident, because it was a weird series of events that led me to click on the first episode of Le Coup De Foudre, and by the time I realized what had happened, I was on episode 26 and it was 1:20 in the morning.

Help.

I finished it today before noon because I watch drama in the fucked-up way where I kind of skip forward by 5 second increments when they talk about things I don't really care about or when they're narrating life lessons.

(I always wonder if I'm missing something integral to the drama-watching experience when I do this because I do this 85% of the time, but it's either this or I get distracted going on social media cause I can't freaking sit still.) 

(idk i think i still get most of the drama though. right?)

But I don't know, I really liked the drama. Not in the way where I want to revisit every scene on Tumblr and proclaim my love for it in the tags like I do with some. It's one of the dramas where I watch, and it just kind of sits heavily in my heart for a little bit and tells me to appreciate who I have around me.

Le Coup De Foudre begins with the ending, where the two characters are already together. They reminisce about their relationship from the very beginning, and that's how the drama progresses. I think it's that feeling, the in media res, the frequent analepsis, that strengthens the poignancy of the nostalgia.

It kind of reminds me of brewing tea.

(lol, midway through a scene, i felt a pang in my chest because i felt so bad for the female lead, and i paused the video and sighed in contentment and was like, "ahhh yes i feel feelings again.")

(sos)

So, I have been describing Le Coup De Foudre as the better version of Itazura Na Kiss--the better version of a plotline we have seen very often. The drama begins in a high school, stretches past college, and ends when both leads find their place next to each other as they leave school-life behind them.

And obviously, during high school, the female lead is failing all her classes whilst the male lead scores number one in every class. And of course, circumstances draw the two together, and the male lead grudgingly begins to tutor the female lead.

But, where Itazura Na Kiss has a male lead who is emotionally manipulative and has a side-hobby of rendering the girl to tears, Le Coup De Foudre has a male lead who is certain of what he wants and faces his feelings head on. There's no tugging back and forth and no unnecessary drama, but instead, a very natural progression from sitting next to a girl you like to finding each other again years after high school graduation.

When I watched Itazura Na Kiss (or the many iterations of it, either in different languages or under a different name cough cough A Love So Beautiful cough cough), there was an anxiety clouding the female lead. She treads carefully, trying to present herself in a version that makes the male lead happy. The male lead, on the other hand, is at a loss of how to address her feelings and thereby, ends up acting like an ass.

(Disclaimer: I don't actually remember much of the dramas. It's been a while.)

In high school, he is not mature enough to handle his feelings for the female lead alongside the stress of living up to his parents' expectations and figuring out what he wants to do in the future. In college, he is not mature enough to handle the admittedly annoying advances of the female lead alongside the new social terrain of unversity. Post-college, he is not mature enough to handle his new marriage alongside his stressful job at the company. From high school to post-college graduation, the male lead does not learn how to navigate a relationship where both parties' feelings matter and instead, focuses on what he thinks a relationship should look like. 

The female lead isn't faultless either, though her archetype has evolved throughout the years. In It Started with a Kiss and Love in Tokyo, she was a caricature of what her character should have been. In A Love So Beautiful, she graduated from being utterly ridiculous to being a little clumsy and a little too head over heels for a not-great guy, but the viewer can't help but be a little fond of her.

In Le Coup De Foudre, she becomes more. Her character stops being defined by her love for the guy.

I like Le Coup De Foudre because before lovers, they are friends first. 

(like. come on. that's kinda cute right.)

It's the softly veiled kind of affection that gets me. Like, when she pauses at the doorway to the classroom, and unlike last semester there are many more desks for her to choose from, but she decides to sit next to him anyways. Or, when he says something stupid and hurts her feelings and is stressing out about how to apologize, but she breaks the ice first and gives him a water bottle.

See, Yanmo is very much the same stoic, brainiac character Naoki was. But unlike Naoki, he is not afraid of his feelings. He doesn't want to hurt her, but his EQ isn't great so he inevitably does so anyways. Yet, he recognizes when he does wrong and takes the initiative to awkwardly ask her twin brother how to apologize. He admits to his mom that he likes her far, far before she even realizes she likes him. He gets drunk on a mouthful of vodka by accident and remembers this dumb thing she said about guys with ties being hot, so he grabs the tie of a fellow student and says he wants it because "guys with ties are hot." He faces his feelings in the immature way a high school student who's never been in love does, but he doesn't deride them. He doesn't think they are beneath him, or that he has larger aspirations and he's just taking a small reprieve from them to be with her.

(this is the kind of stoic male lead I like!!!)

He doesn't leave her behind, running to catch up. Instead, he's always quietly waiting for her.

And when they get together, he lets her fool around. He lets her take all the blankets, he challenges her brother to Chinese Clash of Clans and beats him senseless when he bullies his sister, he jokes with her in that deadpanned way of his, brings her soup when she's writing in a hotel, picks her up on the roadside on a rainy day, and doesn't reprimand her. 

I think this sort of character who plays on the trope of the stoic, smart kid, but fleshes him out so that he cries and laughs and puts other people before him is what makes this relationship dynamic work. There's no icky feeling like in Itazura Na Kiss, where the audience is constantly questioning whether or not Naoki actually loves Kotoko, because in this drama, it's so, so clear that Yanmo loved Qiaoyi since high school.

:/

The other characters are well-written as well. Qiaoyi sucks at math, but she's not stupid. She's shy, but she's not afraid of pursuing what she puts her mind to. She cares a ridiculous amount for other people, but she's not naive, and it's ultimately a combination of these traits that helps the characters save Yanmo's company from bankruptcy. Like I've mentioned before, Qiaoyi isn't defined by her love for Yanmo. She loves Yanmo so much that she pledged to think about him only six days of the week, and then four days, and then two days, and then eventually it'll be just one day of the week, but it never really happens. She loves Yanmo so much, but she lives the life she's supposed to live, accepting that even if he's not by her side, she still needs to work hard for her dream. 

There's no second male lead, so there's no dramatic I LOVE HER MORE THAN YOU EVER WILL screaming match where the first male lead stands there and clenches his teeth because he doesn't know how to proclaim his love. Instead, there's a loving older twin brother who dotes on Qiaoyi but doesn't forget to jokingly remind her that their parents picked her up from the trashbin. Instead, there's an emotionally mature first male lead who tells Qiaoyi he loves her and will be hurt if she likes someone else.

The second female lead is gorgeous and instead of kickstarting a nasty jealousy arc, she becomes one of Qiaoyi's closest friends. It takes a while, but she eventually recognizes that maybe she's liked Yanmo since a young age, but she never really fell in love with him. Instead, she falls in love with Yanmo's uncle who is the same age as him. Uncle isn't a good looking dude, but tbh, Cheng Youmei is pretty enough for both of them.

Uncle is the number one Yanmo/Qiaoyi fan. I like him.

Le Coup De Foudre is great, but I feel kind of bad criticizing Itazura Na Kiss, because it did make up a large part of my childhood.

(i was so offended when the wall outside my house fell and my fam was evicted and we had to live at a motel and not at a hot family friend's house smh) 

Also, there's always this little voice in my head whenever I say some TV show isn't good (which is very often because I'm a pretentious brat) telling me to stop being a hypocrite.

See, when I was in middle school, one of my favorite TV dramas was Meteor Shower, which is one of the many iterations of Hana Yori Dango. 

(LOL Meteor Shower is a whole other can of worms)

I remember I watched it when I was in Shanghai for summer vacation, and then when season 2 came out, I was again, in Shanghai.

(even back then, I thought season 2 was trash.)

When I watched season 2, I lived with my aunt. Because I lived with my aunt, and because my aunt is one of those more-pretentious-than-me people who watches British television and has a wine cooler, I remember switching the channel to something else every time she came by my room.

Which is pretty ridiculous considering I was literally watching a PG television show and not porn.

The reason was some time in my childhood--I don't remember when--I asked to watch a show--I don't know what show it was, it might've been Happy Camp--and my aunt looked at me, appalled, and was like, "You watch that kind of trash? Isn't that kind of show for idiots?"

And I was just kind of like ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

As you can tell, that conversation has stayed with me. My aunt is living with our family right now, and even now, I feel a little sheepish watching my dramas or listening to my music.

(let me explain. my aunt came downstairs one day, and was just casually like, "Liszt is pretty good, huh?" and i was like lol um what.)

(she sits on the toilet and listens to the orchestra as she pees.)

(help.)

This is partially why I have these questions. But the bigger reason why is because I took a shower and great thoughts and questions come when you take a shower.

Is a television show created with the simple intention to entertain the viewer somehow less than one with an overarching message?

How do you judge what is a "good" and therefore, worthwhile show and what isn't?

There is a Chinese drama that's received high ratings, but many people started questioning whether or not it deserved those ratings, because it was a simple love story between two people and wasn't particularly meaningful.

But, if the ratings are given by the audience, then shouldn't that mean that it is a good TV show?

(but then, when have the masses ever been the best judges for quality? cough produce 101 cough)

But, if public opinion is not the best judge for quality, then what is?

The opinion of experts?

(that's so pretentious.) 

But also, if something is produced for free, mass consumption, shouldn't its success be measured by its reception? And shouldn't its quality, thereby, be measured by its success?

I've always had this question about books too. Like, what determines the books we read in a high school English class? Why are these particular books considered the Greats?

Why is Shakespeare so famous?

(don't brick me)

When I was in Shanghai and browsing a bookstore, I heard someone say, "Let's just come in for the AC. Most of the books are 畅销 books anyways, and not worth reading." The group she came in with agreed.

I have seen the words 畅销 before, because I watch a ridiculous amount of TV dramas derived from 畅销 books, but I never searched up the definition. Based on the person's disdainful tone and the way people talked about 畅销 books, I assumed it meant young adult, or genre fiction. Something like that?

But when I asked my cousin what it meant, she said, "Oh, it means bestseller."

And I was like. ???? What.

Evidently, readership and mass opinion have not been perceived as good judges for quality.

Fiction is judged by the usual narrative devices--plot, characterization, flow, theme, etc. But, ultimately, I think it is important to look at reception as well.

Why does a particular story and/or TV drama receive higher ratings and viewership than another? Is it the fault of the audience or of the directors/scriptwriters/actors/production company/country's censorship laws cough cough CHINA cough cough cough/etc.? 

I think analyzing the narrative devices is an exciting conversation, but in media, there are more factors involved than just the author's mind.

And that isn't a conversation that you can easily have when your aunt looks over at you watching SCI: Journal of Mysterious Cases and scoffs. 

(cEnSoRsHiP and LaCk Of FuNdS!!!)

(this is part of a larger discussion around genre fiction and literary fiction and literary merit that i loathe)

(but i feel like i'm in it. i'm in the part i hate omfg)

I feel like a big part of why I feel sheepish watching dramas at home is because ultimately, what you like is an indication of who you are.

Like when people say you get to know a lot about a person by looking at their bookshelf or Spotify playlist.

But, see, this is a very unidimensional way of viewing the world. All these things are indications of who you are, but not definitions of who you are.

There are multiple levels to this sort of perception. There's recognizing this is what you like, generalizing it to who you are as a person, and then making a value judgment on you about it. 

(i.e. You like Harry Potter. You like genre fiction. You are shallow and have no taste in literature.)

But this process should end at step one.

Honestly, there's nothing wrong with watching trash television. Keeping Up With the Kardashians is difficult to put down once I start because I'm so intrigued by the otherworldliness of their lives. I routinely follow YouTuber drama because it's interesting and I'm nosy. Sometimes, I just want to watch two people fall in love and be dumb and cute and not get anything out of it, because life is complicated enough.

There's nothing wrong with watching trash television or a TV drama with unrealistic, poorly written characters, but I do think it's important to recognize the larger flaws of storytelling, especially when it has to do with portraying the human condition.

Media does an incredible part in shaping someone's perspective. I don't think there's anything wrong with portraying violence, rape, bullying, or suicide in television (provided there's a trigger warning), because it is an integral part of life. But, I think it is crucial, and also the social responsibility of content creators, to foster a better future through media. Media shouldn't justify or glorify these actions, but rather, acknowledge that they are negative and show the real world repercussions of them. If you are going to bring up these societal faults, you have to address them as well.

(this is easier said than done, especially when it comes to the smaller issues in life.)

Itazura Na Kiss is a drama that, in my 2020 mindset, falls behind on that standard. Not because it glorifies bullying, but because it portrays an emotionally manipulative relationship between two characters, where the girl is defined in relation to the guy, and that's that. Happily ever after.

But, Itazura Na Kiss also received incredible reception and was remade into a number of dramas and most recently, a movie. This is what concerns me. As our social consciousness evolved to respecting female characters and seeing them as more than an accessory to the male lead, how come the 2019 movie did not show that?

I can understand Itazura Na Kiss gaining traction in the past, just like how I can understand Grease being a very popular movie in the 70s and 80s despite being incredibly sexist. I struggle to understand it in 2020.

This is why I like Le Coup De Foudre. It takes all the tropes that were popular in 1990 and modernizes them so they become palatable to the 2019 audience. It creates two incredibly human and multidimensional characters and introduces them to a simulation where they meet in high school, 2006, one desk by the window.

(see, isn't it that kind of writing that's breathtaking and akin to the power of god?)

song rec: lil ghost - don’t call me davinci

[crusadeoffi]

「 BASICS 」

stage name | eunyoung

birth name | kang eun-young ‘ 강 은영

height | 5 ‘ 7 “

heritage | chinese + korean

place of birth | luoyang ‘ china

birthday | october 15th 1998

zodiac | libra

languages | korean ‘ english ‘ mandarine ‘ cantonese ‘ taiwanese ‘ japanese ‘ spanish

「 CAREER 」

profession | idol ‘ producer ‘ rapper ‘ dancer

group | crusade

position | leader ‘ lead rapper ‘ lead dancer ‘ producer

training period | 6 years

agency | jyp entertainment

「 TRAITS 」

she’s really smart. with an iq of 148

she’s naturally a smarty mouth, sassy and sarcastic. but she have been trying to tune it down since she became crusade’s leader

at first glance she seems serious and cold. but she’s actually a smart mouth, and will probably sass you

even though eunyoung doesn’t show it, she’s a caring and protective person. she’ll, anytime, square up anywhere if anyone badmouth her members in front of her

eunyoung is really hardworking. if she isn’t promoting she’s working on her studio, producing new song for her group and other artists

「 TRIVIA 」

she was born and raised in luoyang, china. ( her chinese name is xia lin ) eunyoung says she feels she’s more chinese but is close in contact with her korean side

she’s the youngest sibling, with two older brothers, which both are known as media influencers in china.

eunyoung and mae are roommates

she was casted on the stress of seoul

she met jackson on her audition day, and have been closed to him since then

the beverage that eunyoung drinks the most is coffee

has 3 dogs back in china, and one in korea. their names are: yinzhou, yangyang, xifan and jia fei

she likes to read on her free time, if she isn’t working

her favorite move is spirit: wild stallion of the cimarron

she’s mostly close to the chinese idols that are apart of the k-pop entertainment

she participated on the first season of producer 101, but she got the 20th rank

[mystarmyangel]

[TRANS] 181111 YoonA - So Wonderful Day #Story_1 in Taipei Media Conference

Korea girl group SNSD’s YoonA arrived in Taiwan to hold her solo fanmeeting for the 2nd time today, she will be meeting fans at Taipei International Convention Center tonight. In the afternoon, she appeared in a pink dress and accepted Taiwanese media interview at the hotel she stayed in. When YoonA who has always love doing online shopping was asked on the item that she recently bought, she laughed and revealed: “Phone screen protector, actually it isn’t any special item”. She proudly expressed: “I am really good at it, other members will also ask me to help them apply theirs”, she generously told the reporters: “The next time when I come (to Taiwan), you all can get ready your screen protectors and I will help you all apply!”

YoonA held her first solo fanmeeting last year January, and she arrived Taiwan again in July last year for a brand endorsement. After a long wait by Taiwan fans, her solo fanmeeting has finally arrived. She recently introduced Taiwan’s deep fried milk in a Korean program, but when asked on her favourite Taiwan snack, YoonA replied in Chinese: “The one I like is bubble milk tea, yesterday I had beancurd with pearls too, it is really good. She also like Hongrui Zhen Sandwich.

When asked on the sugar level and ice quantity, YoonA laughed and said “These questions are really refreshing!” Reporter explained that in Taiwan, these details on drinks are something everyone are mindful of, she replied in Chinese: “I like sweet one, the normal kind”. When probed further on the sweetness level, everyone laughed and YoonA was confused. The interview environment immediately become a lesson on how to order drink in Chinese, YoonA learnt on the spot and said ’sugar level 7, less ice’, she laughed and stated that she will order accordingly the next time.

She said: “I ordered in Korea before, but because in Korea (the sweetness)is 100% so I ordered 70%.”

Today is Nov 11, beside it being Singles’ Day, the public will also go online to purchase special sale items, YoonA is someone who loves online shopping too. Other than showing off the waffle machine she bought in ‘Hyori’s Homestay 2’, she bought phone screen protector recently and praised herself in Chinese “I am really good”. Fellow SM agency junior EXO’s member D.O has also once showoff his screen protector application skills, to this YoonA expressed with a laugh: “We have not compete against each other on this yet”. Upon knowing that applying screen protector is a skill in Taiwan that can earn an income, YoonA extends her invitation to the reporters: “The next time when I come, everyone can get ready theirs and I can apply for you!” 

YoonA is well known as Chinese Level 10, and throughout the interview reporters once again witnessed her language skills. She expressed that the Chinese words she learnt recently is ‘小确幸’ (small but certain happiness) because in Korean there is such words too so she find it refreshing and has it memorised. Her recent 小确幸 is listening to music.

Awhile back SNSD also released their official fanlight, to this YoonA said that it really is a long wait for both SNSD members and fans. The first thought when she came to know about it is, ‘Finally we have our own fanlight too!’. The members also gave their input and there are small changes to the design before the official product release. Recently SM held their Halloween party, and even though YoonA did not go, she think that every year the best dresser is SHINee’s Key.

She attended H.O.T concert in October, when asked if she started following celebrities since young as the sunbaes debuted in 1996 and that time YoonA is not even 10 years, she laughed and replied: “Because I have a older sister so I listened to their songs even when I was young, I even bought tickets for my sister!”

As the nation’s goddess and ideal type of many male celebrities, YoonA used Taiwan dialect (Taiwanese Hokkien) “I like it” to express her feeling towards these titles.

Recently YoonA is filming movie ‘EXIT’ with Jo Jung Suk, she shared that this is an disaster action film, and because the movie is still filming she is unable to reveal more but “Jung Suk is good at creating bright atmosphere, I believe that there will be many interesting behind the scene between actors, director and staffs. And just like I said earlier, because this is an disaster action film, there are a lot of scenes that the body is used, I am paying more attention to health and safety.” Right now she is focusing on movie filming.

Sources: appledaily, yam, ETtoday, nownews, UTN Trans: mystarmyangel

[padfootagain]

For the music event!!!

Submitted by @amysandiago :

I am so excited about the music event! As a Chinese, I often want to recommend songs to people from other countries, but they probably aren’t interested because they don’t know the language. These may not be the best songs ever, but they are songs that I like and are familiar with, and I will provide a little context so people aren’t just hearing jumble of sounds lol. 

小日子 (Little days) by Joey Yung: Joey Yung has been one of the most famous singers in HK for years now, and she was the first celebrity that I actually cared about lol. (Forgive me, this playlist has many of her songs in it oops.) This song is about a couple living simply and peacefully, without needing to show off their love to others, or be rich or important etc. Imagine a royal!AU fanfic where someone abdicates to marry the person they love instead of following through with an arranged marriage, and they go off to run a little flower shop together. Very soft and very lovely.  

搜神記 (something about looking for a god?) by Joey Yung: This song is actually quite feminist. It is about a woman realising that she has placed too much emphasis on her (male) lover, and that she has neglected the beauty of the world and herself in the process. In the end, she decides to walk away from all that and puts herself first. In the end, she finds the god in herself rather than in others.

損友 (Bad friend) by Joey Yung: Joey is actually famous for her sad love songs, so I have to include at least one lol. This is about how the singer is in love with a player (bad friend isn’t exactly apt, but I am sure google translate did its best. Maybe friend who is an unhealthy influence?). She chooses to be with him as a platonic friend instead, as a friendship is more secured than a short-term fling that can end at any moment.

黃色大門 (The Yellow Door) by Joey Yung and 紅屋頂 (The Red Roof) by Denise Ho: The Yellow Door is a song about the singer’s fantastical world, featuring angels, dinosaurs and gardens behind wardrobes, that she escapes to from the harsh real world. The best I can describe it is as a theme song for Pisces, and I love how whimsical it is. The Red Roof is along the same vein, about the singer holding up a red roof, a whimsical and imaginary world where people, especially outcasts are welcomed and loved. I put these songs together because some people have theorised that the songs are about closeted gay people in HK, and rumours of a romantic relationship between Joey and Denise added weight to the theory. Neither of them ever confirmed their relationship, and Joey had never made any statement regarding her sexuality AFAIK. But Denise came out as gay back in 2012, and she has been a LGBT activist since then.

勞斯．萊斯 (Rolls & Royce) by Denise Ho: This leads very nicely to another song by Denise. Two guys fall in love under the proximity of studying in the same school, but they do not end up together due to society pressure and homophobia. In the end, the singer says that there will be no change in the society unless people come out as who they are. I didn’t appreciate the beauty of that song until I realised that I am bi. And it is very brave for Denise to publish a song as explicitly gay as that one, seven+ years before she came out formally, as Asia is on the whole much more conservative.

人海中遇見你 (Meeting you among the crowd) by Johnny Yin: Another happy love song. It is mainly about how lucky the singer feels that he can encounter the love of his life among a mass of people, and how he cannot wait to share everything with them and hopes that it would always feel like home where they are. It is a popular song in weddings, as you can imagine. xD

突然好想你 (Suddenly Missing You) by Lala Hsu (originally sung by MayDay, not to be confused with MayDay Parade): Another fairly famous song. I personally like the cover better than the original. The sadness is more subtle in this one, laced with a bit of exhaustion if that makes sense. It is about how the singer is scared of suddenly hearing about her ex out of the blue after losing contact for a long time, knowing that it will bring back pain and hurtful memories. She also wonders about them, where they are now and how they are doing. I bet many people can relate to that.

我不願讓你一個人 (I won’t let you be lonely) by MayDay: Yay for lyrics! It is an angsty song about a man who still worries about his SO’s wellbeing after they have broken up. He prepares extra clothes for them when it’s cold and asks for their opinion out of reflex even though they have moved out. He doesn’t want them to be lonely and face the harsh world alone and wishes that they will find their happy ending one day.

給自己的情書 (A love letter to myself) by Faye Wong: I like to listen to this song when I feel down and need a soothing pick-me-up that isn’t power rock&roll lol. The song basically advises people to love and care for themselves, and their love will shelter them from the rain like a tree, even if they have no one but themselves to rely on.

��口 (Gap/notch) by Harlem Yu: The English translation isn’t perfect, but here you go. Just a simple love song about who people who complement each other despite their differences. I also recommend the movie this song is from. It is called Café. Waiting. Love. It is a rom com and features a super hot lesbian barrista who regrettably, isn’t the main. :P

童话 (Fairy Tale) by Michael Wong: Eng subs! The singer wants to be an angel from a fairy tale, ad protect his lover and gives them a happy ending. I remember the international students singing this during mealtimes even though they didn’t know a nick of mandarin lol. But the lyrics are repetitive, so they got the hang of it. xD I will always remember the song fondly because of that.

下一站天后 (Next station Tin Hau) by Twins: Tin Hau is actually an underground station in HK, but it can also mean a famous female singer or celebrity. Even when the singers are about to become huge singers, it would mean nothing without the people love most there listening to them. And all the fame and adoring fans pale in comparison to the prospect of singing softly to their lover in their home. (I probably love domestic love songs way too much…)

小酒窝 (Dimples) by JJ Lin and Charlene Choi: Another love song with eng subs! Two people fall in love gradually, their favourite facial features of each other are their dimples and long lashes. Cute and soft. All fluff. :D

手紙 ～拝啓 十五の君へ (Letters to my 15-year-old self) by Angela Aki: Another motivating song. It is not in my native language, but it is too beautiful not to be included. Even when your dream is hard to reach, and you want to give up, or you feel lost and tired and sad, it is important to just keep going. I also recommend this cover, and bonus: it has English lyrics lol which everyone should read because it is motivating and sincere and touching and I love this song.

浮生盡(????) instrumental cover by 鍾嘉鳳: GuZheng is a Chinese instrument that I personally feel is especially suitable for playing sad love songs like this one. The sounds are truly beautiful so I have to include at least one GuZheng piece!

Secrets track 22 by Jay Chou: A lovely piano piece from a Taiwanese (?) movie called Secrets.

My Tamako, My Sookee (soundtrack from Korean movie The Handmaiden): People probably know about this already but I love this piece of music so much I have to mention it lol.

Fate of Us (soundtrack from Japanese movie Tomorrow I Will Date With Yesterday’s You): Another instrumental track. It would sound more heart wrenching once you have watched the movie. Yes, you should definitely watch it but make sure to avoid spoilers cause there’s a big twist coming.

Smother and Youth, both by Daughter: People can probably find this so I am not going to link. Sometimes I just want to wallow in sadness and no amount of happy songs will get me out of that. This is when I turn to these songs, and basically the whole album lmao. There is something soothing about listening to songs that seem to understand what you are going through.

Sounds like Somewhere by Lily and Madeleine: Another happier song. This, combined with track 9, 14 and The Yellow Door from 4 are my stables for getting out of a sad mood haha.

I am sorry this is so long and I am so rambly. But I do get so excited when people are interested in Chinese music lol. Hope you enjoy. :)

Thank you so much for your rec-list! I’m so happy to discover some Chinese songs, all these singers have such beautiful voices!! Joey Yung’s songs are so gorgeous! Thank you as well for the comments on each song! Thank you for taking the time to do this!!

[altonajitzu]

[Oneshot] Worthy of Headlines

“Look, Tzuyu-ah. We’re at the airport already.” Sana said excitedly, pulling Tzuyu from her thoughts.

“Oh? That was fast.” Next to her, Mina was still dozing off. TWICE’s resident penguin had had a rough day. Well, technically they all did, spending a larger part of yesterday attending the GAONCHART awards ceremony and not going home until late at night. While admittedly fun, it was no picnic for the more introverted members of TWICE- suffice to say, Mina and Tzuyu were beyond exhausted thereafter. The Taiwanese, fortunately, managed to catch a few hours of shut-eye prior to their trip to Gimpo airport, having prepared her luggage beforehand.

Tzuyu took a glance around the bus she and the J-Trinity were riding in. They were given relative privacy, sitting in the middle of the vehicle with a distance of two seats from their entourage. To better identify, all bodyguards wore uniform black parka, along with- to distinguish from other black wearers- a ridiculously bright yellow cap. What a great way to avoid attention, Tzuyu snorted inwardly. Still, she was not one to question how bodyguarding worked, so she let her mind wander other things instead.

Not yet Tzuyu, don’t go there now. Tzuyu shook her head.

At the two seats on the other side of the bus sat Mina and Momo, who were engrossed in conversation. Rather, it was mostly Momo talking animatedly in Japanese while Mina just sleepily nodded along, occasionally giving curt answers. Such was the dynamic of the couple’s relationship, one being a boundless source of energy while the other being silent and attentive. The scene certainly reminded her of a certain relationship she had with someone.

No! Stop thinking. Talk. Distract yourself. Tzuyu decided not to butt in for now, opting to focus on the remaining member of TWICE on the bus.

“Sana-unnie.” The Japanese girl looked up from her snack.

“Yeah?”

“What are you planning to do when you get back to Japan? I mean, aside from reuniting with your family.”

“Well, we do not really have much time for other stuff, do we?” Sana replied, an uncharacteristic wistful expression present on her face. “I mean, I do want to visit many friends and other relatives too. But given our limited time, I’d rather stay with my family as much as possible than make many pointless short trips.”

That was true for in all their cases, Tzuyu thought sadly.

“What about you, Tzuyu? Tell me you have something different in mind.”

“I actually have to do something else unnie. Do you remember I posted about an earthquake back in my home country the other day?” Sana nodded. “Well, I’m supposed to travel to Hualien city. You know, to pay homage to families of the dead and injured.”

Sana gasped, recalling the pictures she saw on the news. While not particularly devastating, the disaster left several buildings in a highly volatile state, and there had been no updates on the situation since then. “You’re going to travel there, Tzuyu? Isn’t that dangerous? I don’t want you to get hurt.” She dramatically grabbed the younger girl’s hand, giving her a lost puppy look.

Tzuyu laughed a bit at this. “Don’t worry too much Sana-unnie, they already dealt with most of the damage. There won’t be any building falling over me… I think.” This earned her a swat from Sana.

“It’s not a joke Tzuyu! You might really get in danger.”

“But, I’m not alone, remember? I have the bodyguards with me always, and I believe in them.”

Sana still did not seem convinced. She opened her mouth to say something more, then- as if remembering something, she promptly shut it again. “… Oh.” A mischievous smile suddenly crossed her face. This did not go unnoticed by Tzuyu.

“What does that mean Sana-unnie?”

“What does what mean? I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“You just smiled. You’re hiding something from me.”

Again, Sana was about to retort, but thought better of it and sighed. “You’re good Tzuyu-chan.”

Tzuyu shrugged. “What can I say? The silent ones know the most.”

“That I can agree.” Interrupted Mina, who somehow managed to catch what the Taiwanese girl said just now. “The more you talk, the less you know.”

“Hey! What’s that supposed to mean?” Shouted an indignant Momo, and everyone laughed.

With the other two Japanese joining in, the members of TWICE shared a pleasant conversation until they arrived at Gimpo airport, and Tzuyu was all too glad for the distraction.

______

“… And that’s why I think, they have to straighten up the building BEFORE demolishing them.”

They were now sitting in the boarding area, surrounded by a dozen of their bodyguards. Tzuyu had mostly forgotten about whatever Sana was hiding, and was now engrossed in a discussion about the outcome of the earthquake.

“But how is it even possible? I don’t think there’s a machine big enough to just push the building back to its place…” Mina was interrupted by the announcer, calling for passengers on the next flight. “Oops, that’s us. Let’s go guys.”

Even though it was yet her turn, Tzuyu still stood up to give her unnies a round of goodbye hugs.

“See you again next week guys. I’ll miss you.” With her longer arms, she managed to round all three Japanese girls up in one group hug.

“Don’t forget to take pictures Tzuyu! We’ll call you as soon as we arrive.” Said Momo, her voice muffled amidst the bundle of thick clothes they were wearing.

“Stay safe Tzuyu. Happy new year.” Mina said simply, her smile warm and reassuring. Tzuyu smiled back.

“Happy new year to you too unnie. Too all of you.”

“Happy new year! Here, put this on.” Sana chirped, whipping out a yellow cap- the exact same model worn by their escort. Sensing Tzuyu’s distaste, she quickly added. “So you won’t mess up your hair when you fall asleep on the plane or something.”

Tzuyu sighed. That was a valid point.

“Okay Sana-unnie, might as well. My flight isn’t for another hour anyway, I would hate it if I nod off and wake up with tangled hair.” Tzuyu actually took great care of her hair, and only thanks to her meticulous work did it manage to always appear silky smooth. She took the cap and put it on her head. Sana beamed happily.

“Good girl. Here’s your reward.” She leaned in and gave Tzuyu a quick peck on the cheek, making the younger girl blush furiously despite the cold weather.

“U-unnie! People might see us!” She could already hear some excited murmurs from the crowd, as well as the clicking sounds of photos being taken.

“Then let them. Doesn’t hurt to give our fans something every now and then, no?” Said the ever-flirtatious Sana. Not nearly as talkative and quick-witted, Tzuyu chose to narrow her eyes and pout at the older girl rather than replying.

“Just hurry up guys. Don’t be late. I’ll see you soon.” Tzuyu bid her farewell. The Japanese girls all reciprocated with appreciative waves, before heading towards their terminal.

______

As she looked at Sana, Momo and Mina’s figures blend in the crowd and eventually disappear from sight, a growing sense of anxiety sprouted within her. Sighing, she sat down on the metal benches. Leaning back, her head awkwardly knocked against someone sitting on the adjacent seat.

“Oops, I’m sorry.” She hurriedly apologized. The other person did not seem to mind though, as he was immersed in something. He was wearing a black karpa (yet another, thought Tzuyu), obscuring his identity for the most part. With his back to her, Tzuyu could not see what it was, and decided against being nosy.

Settling back into her original position, the young Taiwanese thought back to Sana’s secretive smile. It did not feel good to have someone know something about you that you yourself didn’t, it never did. Therefore, it troubled Tzuyu a bit, seeing she never got Sana to spill the beans.

I sure hope it doesn’t have anything to do with Jihyo-unnie.

As soon as her leader’s name popped into her head, Tzuyu sighed yet again. It had taken all she had to avoid daydreaming about Jihyo, and most of it was thanks to external diversion. Now that she was alone, her mind would invariably drift back to the gorgeous older girl, and she both loved and dreaded it.

It did not take long for Tzuyu to develop feelings more than friendship towards Jihyo. Since the very first days, when she was just fresh off the boat and could barely exchange a word with any other trainee, Jihyo had been the first to extend her greetings. And in Mandarin, no less. Their first conversation was awkward as hell, both stumbling with their respective foreign languages, but she enjoyed every second of it. Throughout the period when Sixteen was recorded, they met up in private a lot- whenever they were tired from practicing, and in need of mental relief. Jihyo seemed to have taken a particular interest with Mandarin, and she urged Tzuyu to give her quick supplementary lessons, something the younger girl was all too happy to comply.

Days went by, with Tzuyu improving in Korean much faster than Jihyo in Chinese- which was understandable, seeing as she also had proper Korean lessons with designated tutors courtesy of JYP. Still, she was yet to feel comfortable to share anything more than small talks in Korean, so she treasured every moment she got together with Jihyo; before she knew it, she started to disclose more and more about herself- albeit in simplified sentences, so that Jihyo could follow. Being able to share personal emotions brightened her mood dramatically, helping her to open up to other trainees as well. Despite that, Jihyo remained her first and closest friend.

When Sixteen was finished and TWICE officially had their debut, all members moved to live in one common dorm, something Tzuyu was really looking forward to. Free from the stress of competition, Jihyo underwent a miraculous transformation- gone were the old chubby cheeks, and in came a body of godly proportions. With that- alongside her relentless training and her motherly act towards other members, Jihyo became a figure of admiration and respect for them all.

Except for Tzuyu.

_____

She snapped her head up, realizing she’d been dozing off. Looking at the watch, Tzuyu sighed when there was still another half an hour before her flight. Her mind had wandered back to the past all that time. What happened after that had not been a pleasant memory, Tzuyu thought. She remembered the mental struggle when seeing Jihyo grow more and more beautiful each day. She had felt incredibly guilty that her feelings toward Jihyo was gradually growing into something else entirely. She did not think much of it at first, but as time went by, it started to creep its way so deep inside her heart that she could not deny its presence anymore.

It embarrassed her to recall, but she had lusted over Jihyo for such a long time she lost count. Every minute spent in close proximity with Jihyo felt like torture; her body would heat up uncontrollably, every time they touched felt like an electric jolt, and she found herself stuttering on virtually anything she said. For fear of ruining the group’s dynamic, Tzuyu actively distanced herself a bit from her leader, spending more time with her fellow maknaes instead, hoping the inappropriate feelings would go away.

They didn’t.

To her dismay, Jihyo was unbelievably oblivious to what she felt. She was not about to let any beloved members of TWICE drift away from her too far, so Jihyo made sure to give extra attention to Tzuyu- joining their arms on public trips, pulling her in for Vlive sessions, and so on. It annoyed Tzuyu to no end, and- if she was being honest with herself- incredibly happy. It had not felt right, giving someone you loved the cold shoulder, so Tzuyu just threw caution to the wind and erased the distance between them that she’d created earlier. For a while, she was at peace.

Then something else happened.

Observing Jihyo closely, Tzuyu bitterly realized she was not special. Jihyo tried her damndest to spend time with every member of TWICE. She had walked into not one, but many private conversations where Jihyo was acting like a perfect therapist- listening to problems, offering solutions, and most of all, offering a shoulder to cry on.

It made Tzuyu extremely, utterly jealous. She was not one to go to others about her problems, but she seriously considered breaking this creed of hers for the sake of being comforted by Jihyo.

And she did.

_____

“Jihyo-unnie.”

“Tzuyu-ah.” Jihyo replied, not looking up from her work. Her dainty hands moved rhythmically, forming stitches after flawless stitches on the purple scarf.

“Who is it for this time unnie?” Tzuyu asked, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible.

“It’s for Dahyunie.” Answered Jihyo with a fond smile. “She wants one before going home to her parents. You know, where she lives can be really cold in winter.”

‘She did not offer to make me one’, Tzuyu bitterly noticed. Still, she came to Jihyo with a purpose, and she would accomplish it. Mentally barring the negativity from taking over her mind, Tzuyu took a seat next to her leader and gingerly rested her head on Jihyo’s shoulder, lest the older girl be disturbed and hurt herself. Fortunately, Jihyo did not seem to mind.

“I want one too unnie.” She said in a low tone, but Jihyo heard it nonetheless. She stopped to give her a questioning look. “Taiwan is freezing too. Aren’t you afraid I’ll catch a cold?”

“Well of course Tzuyu. But… you’re leaving for your hometown the day after tomorrow, aren’t you?” Jihyo asked. “That’s too little time. Tell you what, let’s go out together later and buy you a pretty…” She was silenced by Tzuyu’s finger pressed on her lips. The younger girl stood up and crouched down at her, their forehead almost touching. To Jihyo she looked deadly serious, scary even.

“No unnie. I really want you to make me one.” Pausing a bit, she added. “Just as much as I want you for myself.”

With that she rushed off, leaving a flabbergasted Jihyo behind.

_____

She didn’t. To her distress, she did not even see Jihyo the whole day after, nor when they left the dorm for the airport. Granted, they had to leave quite early in the morning, but still… she was being ignored, a righteous treatment to her recklessness and inconsideration.

Tzuyu coughed into her mask. It had gotten colder than when she arrived, and the overcoat was doing a poor job at covering her throat. Another painful reminder of the scarf she would never receive on time.

As she pulled her luggage to depart, she found that it would not budge. Tzuyu tried harder, but to no avail.

“Ugh, what now…” She looked down to the luggage handle, only to see it held back by another hand from hers. Looking up, a shocked gasp escaped her lips.

In front of her stood stood Park Jihyo, her sheepish smile visible beneath the fluffy black hood. 

“... Hi Tzuyu.”

The woman that plagued Tzuyu’s mind every waking moment was there all this time, discreetly putting the finishing touches on the scarf she was holding in her hand while disguising as another bodyguard.

The image of Sana’s wicked smile appeared in her mind. So she knows. But there was no time to dwell on this right now.

“… Jihyo-unnie? Why are you here?”

“Y-you said you want your scarf before leaving for Taiwan, so… here it is.” Jihyo hesitantly wrapped said scarf around Tzuyu. “I finished it just now, s-sorry if it does not look pretty.” Tzuyu could not care less about how the present looked, as her heart was now filled with a burning desire to engulf Jihyo in a crushing hug.

“Jihyo-unnie… if you don’t tell me to stop, I’m going to kiss you.”

That earned her the reaction she had anticipated. Jihyo’s arms went limp at her sides, and she simply stood there slack-jawed, with a flaming blush that went all the way to her ears. Before long, she struggled to reply.

“B-but, there are so many people here, and you hate scandals and compromising pictures, and…”

It was adorable how the ever-talkative and eloquent Jihyo became a stuttering mess when it comes to romance. Seeing her beloved in this state flipped a weird switch within Tzuyu, and she put on a sly smile.

“You did not say no.” Observed Tzuyu. This only helped to deepen Jihyo’s blush, if that was even possible.

“Tzuyu-ah, I don’t like the way you’re looking at me…”

“Doesn’t hurt to give our fans something every now and then, no?” Tzuyu mischievously said, repeating the exact words Sana had said to her an hour ago. Leaning in close, she boldly whispered. “Let’s give them a story worthy of headlines.”

Chou Tzuyu, the visual of TWICE, the third most beautiful face of 2017, the innocent angel to all, was known for never showing affection, be it verbally or physically.

But she would break down every single wall of hers, if it meant she could get Jihyo.

Wrapping her arms around the astonished Jihyo, she sealed her lips with a passionate kiss.

Tzuyu was on her way home, but at the same time, she was home.

[wannawrite]

Taiwan’s Treasure

• who?: Wanna One's Lai Guanlin • genre: 🌸 • type: bullet point

• flower boy! AU

• there’s this really cute Taiwanese flower boy who keeps changing his flower crown every few days

the 'our two lips' flower boys LDH PJH PWJ KJH IYM blog navigator. second last instalment for this month and I hope you guys enjoyed this series!! Thank you!! also, trying to gender neutralise my works a bit more but i'm sorry if i make mistakes!! - Admin L

• you have lived in the same neighbourhood for as long as you could remember so you recognise everyone • when a moving truck stops to the empty house next to your own - the previous neighbours immigrated - you're mildly excited for new people • since all your neighbours are nice senior couples and good-hearted grandmothers who feed you and your brother really often bc you two are the only teenagers in this place • your brother is still a young child must protect • anyway, you have school the day they're moving in and you don't get a chance to spy them out 

• your chauffeur - Jisung, who is pretty much an annoying older brother to you but you love him - comes to pick you and your brother from school • just as your car approaches, you spy a young woman getting out of the car, beaming • she's very well-dressed #lairich and pretty • there seems to be someone else still sitting in the car they arrived in but you can't exactly make out who it is • your car is parked in the driveway and the gates are closing before you know it • "wow, it's interesting to have new neighbours again...." your younger brother pipes up • agreed • you don't see your neighbours for a good two days • until one day, you're walking back from school by yourself • since your brother got sick during school hours and was rushed to the hospital where your dad was • you hear sounds of a basketball even through your loud music • it must be your new neighbour • the house seems deserted and even the cars are out • might as well go and introduce myself • there's a teenage boy playing basketball by himself in a big ass driveway, his main gate is ajar so you slip in • "hello!" • he is stunned and nearly drops the basketball, he fumbles to collect it for a while • you take that time to observe him • d a m n • a visual • "um...hi" he replies shyly before clearing his throat, "Sorry, my Korean isn't good." • uh no way you genuinely thought he was a native speaker from those words • but since you're nice you try to speak simple, basic words • "oh! welcome to the neighbourhood! where are you from? my name is Y/N, I live next door." then you blush because you realise you just bombarded him with a ton of words • "i'm sorry!" you apologise, blushing • he laughs it off, "i-it's fine. i'm from Taiwan and m-my name is Guanlin" • perks of attending C9 International Academy, you know a tad bit of Chinese and you manage to communicate with him a little • unfortunately, that's the only time you have a proper conversation with him • the rest of the time, you're leaving for school just as he wakes up and you come back while he's still at Cube International Private • guanrich • you see him venturing out early in the mornings when you are doing your morning stretches • secretly, you're spying on him from his room window • two of you never get a chance to talk • the time his family invited yours over for dinner, you had prefect camp in school and had to miss out • your friends wouldn't stop joking about your bummed out face for the entire two days • "ahh, Y/N is mad because she missed out on the chance to meet a rich, handsome, foreign cutie!" • "don't joke so much Cheng Xiao, here, a lot of the students are rich, pretty and foreign too" • your best friend clicked her tongue while smirking, "oh, he's different" • it's safe to say that camp was the least enjoyable • to make matters worse, all your brother did was rave about 'Guanlin ge' • confused, you asked him why he didn't call Guanlin 'hyung' • "he told me we're close enough to call him brother in his mother language!" • ge, 哥, is older brother in Chinese • apparently, Guanlin played basketball with him late into the night and even managed to convince your strict parents to allow him to stay up late • they both played into the night under the watchful eye of Jisung who wasn't sure if he was a chauffeur or your servant • he loved you guys like siblings though • ANYWAY • Guanlin seemed to be running off early in the mornings as soon as the summer started and you weren't sure why • in the evenings, he came home looking flustered and exhausted • you found out the reason for his weird schedule a few days later • when your friends invited you to head out cafe hopping • the first stop: our two lips • an aegyo a day keeps the doctor away • but if it's too much you might need to see the doctor • Park Jihoon needs a surgeon ASAP • but another reason you decided to go there is because your cousin, Bae Jinyoung got hired to be a flower boy and you want to collect pictorial evidence of him to make memes out of and embarrass the hell out of him at the next family gathering • you're texting your friends and Xiyeon and Cheng Xiao tell you they're going to be late and for you to go ahead • shock is written all over your face when a familiar, handsome neighbour greets you • "y/n...." your name tumbles from his velvety lips in a raspy tone, as if he can't believe you're standing there either • your mouth forms a small 'o' and you two are standing there just gazing at each other for a while • he is mesmerising • Guanlin clears his throat and awkwardly offers to show you to a table • god that was so rude of me • you fiddle with your Kate Spade cross body along the way, feeling mildly self-conscious • he's so nervous he messes up his Korean and has to repeat his sentence three times • he has gotten a lot better though! • you feel super proud • "your skill is improving! that's good! you must have worked hard, what a genius!" you praised, awed by his smartness • Guanlin smiles bashfully as his face grows hot. he rubs the back of his neck in shame. "Ahh, no. I didn't even sign up for this job willingly. Seonho tricked me into thinking it was a cupcake eating competition" • you burst out laughing until your stomach hurt from all the giggles • "aww! next time, you can ask me if you need help with anything." • he nodded and dutifully took your order before whizzing off • Guanlin is the one who works hard but also plays hard while on the job. he is also the kind who brightens his hyung's bad days and sometimes falls victim to their pranks • the next time Guanlin visits your table to drop off your tea, you notice his flower crown is different from the rest of the boys • again, his face goes red and you nearly squeal at how adorable he looks • "ohh, these are plum blossoms, the national flowers of Taiwan. Uh, my mum felt like being extra and I guess my aunt almost went overboard," he said, revealing the whole story • you beamed, adoring the cute story. "it's unique and cute, just like you!" you blurted out • "whoops! sorry, I didn't mean too!" • Lin Lin goes even redder and clamps his mouth shut • instead, he plucks his own flower crown off and settles it on your head before smiling and walking off • FREAKING OUT • you can't remember what it felt like to have a normally paced heartbeat anymore • brhidhsksjdn • his flower crown is definitely the prettiest and it's made out of real flowers! • damn someone give his aunt a raise pls • Cheng Xiao and Xiyeon waltz in • they were secretly watching the exchange between you and your crush from across the road through the lens of binoculars • how supportive • Xiyeon can't stop smirking at your blushing cheeks • "hey, stop that," you whine, covering your face • when Cheng Xiao's latte arrives, her latte art is a super cute writing of sheep [ go support Yixing ] in Korean • with a bit of listening in to the fellow flower boys, it's Guanlin's way of revising his Korean writing • it's the cutest latte art you've seen • also, it reflects his hard-working personality and willingness to learn • "oooh, I really wonder whose flower crown this is...." Xiyeon muses, sipping her tea • your blush worsens and you slump in silence, almost in defeat • "okay, okay. I like him? So what?" you burst out, but only loud enough for your friends to hear • at least you thought so.... • across the room, a particular Taiwanese boy is struggling to keep his cool • Y/N likes someone else, just accept that! • it's probably that Bae Jinyoung • you don't know but Guanlin has a crush on you • ever since you introduced yourself whilst he was playing basketball • he saw you a couple times at friendly basketball matches against C9 • you were always hanging around the captain of your team, Bae Jinyoung so Guanlin assumed he was your boyfriend • but Baejin is your COUSIN • pls don't date your cousins guys it's illegal • his mood is definitely dampened after he hears your confession, his heart has sunk to the bottom of the ocean • of course not, why would Y/N like a foreigner? We can't even communicate properly! • Guanlin was trying his best to be attentive in Korean class so that he could hold a proper conversation with you someday • the G in Guanlin is for genius • much to your dismay, Guanlin didn't try to talk to you anymore but you figured he just got shy around your friends • he has no reason to be shy around his neighbour • 'Neighbour' is all I would ever be...... • eventually, you leave but not without returning his special flower crown, fixing it securely on his head and complimenting it once more, which causes him to blush furiously • sigh...that's the last glance of flower boy Guanlin you get • until....... • a couple of days later, you're exiting your gate, out on your mid-morning run when Guanlin's mother calls your name from her front door • you greet her with a huge smile, winning her heart over completely • Gosh, I hope Guanlin stops crying over Y/N and talks to them instead, they're so sweet • "Y/N darling, if it isn't too much trouble, could you drop by Guanlin's work and give this to him on my behalf? You are a sweetheart." • you can't exactly say no to your nice neighbour future mother-in-law • Mrs Lai feeds you and your brother all the time ??? She sends Taiwanese snacks all the time and your heart just melts • especially when she mentions her children helped her to make them • baking with Guanlin • NEXT • so, tentatively, you find yourself stepping into the cafe again. clad in your workout attire and all • Nike sponsored your outfit so you look chic and hot asf • 😍😍😍 • Guanlin when he saw you ^ • then he remembers Baejin and he's like 'oh' then sighs, 'i can't flirt with someone who is taken. that is just rude' • he watches from behind the counter as you talk to Ong Seongwoo, casually admiring how pretty you look • like literally, who can look that good after exercising? your skin is glowing, your eyes are happy, there's some sort of sun-kissed gleam about you that lights up his entire face • "hey, Lin Lin!" Ong yells "y/n is here for you!" • Ha Sungwoon, who is ushering the last few customers out before they close for a lunch break, does a 360 spin when he hears the telltale clatter of a metal tiffin • Guanlin takes the tiffin from you, mumbling a 'thank you' • his fingers brush against yours and sparks shoot through his entire body, making his eyes widen and he nearly loses grip on the entire thing • please don't waste food • "Jinyoung!" you beam, running over to hug your cousin affectionately but not before making sure Guanlin made it safely to their break room with the food • Guanlin's emotions are conflicted. he is confused why you act so nice to him when you already have a boyfriend. yes, there is such a thing as being friends but he can't handle his feelings for you. he lets out a frustrated groan just as you and Baejin enter the break room • "y/n, did you eat? you should join us for lunch," Park Jihoon pipes up, looking hopefully at you with his doe-like eyes. • before you can nod, Ong stands up and announces there's a shortage of chairs so there's a scramble to find one for you • whoosh! suddenly you and Guanlin are left alone • today, he has some sort of rose pinned to his shirt pocket in place of his flower crown • "it's very pretty, just like you," you babble out without thinking. um deja vu much? you might as well just throw caution to the wind and straight out flirt with him now • outside, your cousin is struggling to hold in his laughter while recording blackmail • Guanlin just shrugs, pretending to busy himself with unloading the tiffin tiers while he tries to suppress his rising emotions • where are my hyungs? • "oh my gosh! this smells amazing! what is it? your mother must be a great cook," you praise, but restrain yourself from digging in without the others • "it's traditional Taiwanese food. my mum makes only the best," Guanlin says proudly • "i should try to learn some from your mum. that way, we can make it whenever you come over!" • "......" Guanlin is speechless and the image of you cooking and learning how to make his traditional mother land dishes makes him soft!!! • "i mean, with your sister! and, and your parents, of course!" you continue • there's an awkward pause before you start talking again, "has anyone requested for you to feed them as fanservice?" • Guanlin cringes and shakes his head. "thank God but Woojin hyung did get asked once and I think I still have a video of it on my phone." • Woojin's shame and annoyance is pretty much radiating off him right now • with a burst! of confidence, you scoop up a spoonful of rice and lets it hover near your lips • "would you like me to feed you?" • EW NO I AM SO CRINGEY PLS LET ME LIVE I AM SORRY I AM SO SORRY SWEETIE • Lin Lin is so stunned his mouth drops open and heat creeps up the back of his neck. he doesn't know how to tell you that your action reminds him of the wedding tradition where the bride has to prepare glutinous rice balls for the groom • okay Guan we get that you have a crush on y/n but maRRIAGE IS TOO SOON STOP YOU ARE A CHILD IM YELLING • maybe it's a thing you do to your friends all the time but to Lin Lin, he's only ever been fed by his family or really close friends... never his CRUSH • he isn't going to complain about being fed though we all know he loves food • fksodhjds his feelings are all over the place now • "why do you act like this when you already have a boyfriend?" • um what? run that by me again? • Guanlin spends excessive time on chewing so as to avoid answering your questions • "oh...you know, Bae Jinyoung? The captain of C9's basketball team? Also the guy you were hugging two seconds ago?" he retorts, face falling in realisation that you probably had to admit and confirm your relationship • contrary to his expectation, you burst out laughing and so does Baejin and Jaehwan • "guANLIN! BAEJIN IS MY COUSIN!" • flsjskdjsksdj he has never gone so red in his entire life • only you have that effect on him ;) • "s-so...you're single?" guanlin stammers out ruefully • boldly, you press a quick kiss to his cheek • "yes, very" • "c-can...w-will you go o-out" • someone save him he's switching between English, Chinese and Korean in one sentence • "yes." • relief just washes over his face and his hyungs burst back into the room • "wow! it took us fifteen minutes to find one chair! this place has terrible storage!" • you turn to Guanlin and poke his cheek gently • "yah, wipe that smug smile off your face. if you were a flower, you would be white calla lily" • he quirks an eyebrow, "innocence and purity?" • cue hyungs cackling • "yeah! your next flower crown should be made out of those!" • the next week, he comes to work with one commissioned by his aunt • but he refuses to leave for work until he has stopped by your place to give you a matching one • you get his aunt's phone number and surprises him with a flower crown of butterly orchids - another flower native to Taiwan • he straight up faints out of happiness and collects the flower crowns you make instead of utilising them • his precious • "y/n, you're really feeding my flower boy reputation" ( deja vu ) • Guanlin gifts you Dior's Miss Dior - Blooming Bouquet out of nowhere bc he can and he wants to show his appreciation and kinda feels bad you spent not your money but your time slaving over learning to cook and make flower crowns • then again....guanrich but not everything is about money • at the end of it all, he's still the same flower boy Lin Lin

[tellagrlsuc-blog]

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[thekoreanlass]

I’m not really a big fan of C-dramas or Meteor Garden, but who will forget this phenomenal drama that started from a Japanese manga until it became a TV series that probably has the most remakes? Taiwanese, Korean, Indonesian, and now a Chinese remake!

The Meteor Garden fever has surely converted people of all ages into fans, not just of the drama but the fictional popular quartet F4! Who would forget Dao Ming Si, Hua Ze Lei, Mei Zuo, and Xi Men? The original boys brought us wonderful songs that most 90-ish kids would still remember and sing along to, which would definitely lead us back to memories of the Taiwanese version’s immense popularity.

At that time, I remember myself still being a kid, who willingly followed her older sister’s every whim and recorded every single episode on a tape recorder for her. Those were the dark times that I totally got sick of being in front of the television and the drama, but gladly Vic Zhou was there to grace me with his presence. I so loved Hua Ze Lei as a kid. He was my ultimate crush, that was probably why I started crushing on Yoon Jihoo as soon as the Korean remake took over a few years later.

More than that blast from the past feeling though, the hottest topic this 2018 is the comeback the drama is making through the Chinese remake, starring this generation’s most beautiful faces, Shen Yue (Dong Shan Cai), Dylan Wang (Dao Ming Si), Darren Chen (Hua Ze Lei), Connor Leong (Feng Mei Zuo) and Caesar Wu (Xi Men Yan).

Shen Yue feels very familiar to me after her ‘A Love So Beautiful’ drama aired in my country and boosted in popularity. The boys, however, are all new faces to me but I must say the moment I saw them I really felt good to see that they are taking over the F4 role. Maybe because they all just look so handsome and charming that their face value already makes the cut.

Anyway, I’ve been rambling about the randomest things, but that’s just because I feel excited to talk about the 2018 version after just watching it. I’m up to episode 6 of the drama, so I shall share my first impression about what happened from the beginning to that point.

Here goes nothing!

Catchy Start

What caught my attention when I started episode 1 is how it opened the story with Shan Cai asking ‘Have you ever wondered what will happen to you in the future?’ and concluding how her 18 year old self never thought something like that will happen to her while a scene of her throwing a strong flying kick to Dao Ming Si’s face plays in slow motion.

I think that, that flying kick on the face totally brings a huge head start to the drama, causing for curiosity to uproot as they left what happened a mystery and began the generic introduction of characters. Shan Cai being the ordinary girl who will luckily land the role of heroine in one hell of a rollercoaster ride. And there was also–lo and behold–the notorious F4, who seems even more perfectly described in this version (a really much improved background than their earlier versions!) that it is too good to be true. To fictitious, to say.

Nonetheless, the start of the drama really managed to grab my attention, so I’m giving them a perfect score for that.

Same but Different

So, we get the same thing but maybe with a Chinese twist to it? I’m not sure whether it’s because they want it to be different from its past versions, but this one definitely has a very unique taste to it.

They changed a lot of things like:

Shan Cai’s family background – The original Meteor Garden and even Boys Over Flowers portrayed her as someone coming from a poor family that barely made a living. Here, Shan Cai at least came from an average family with a mom that cooks and gets money from delivering takeouts and has a father that works as a bank manager (I think they said that was his job).

In the previous versions too, her parents look really pathetic to me. I mean, the father and mother were both selling off their daughter to Dao Ming Si / Gu Jun Pyo. But at least, the mother in the Chinese version is not that loud and annoying and although she still dotes on Dao Ming Si so much that she can sell Shan Cai out to him, at least, her father is there to become the buffer that stops her antics.

An even more perfect F4 – If that’s even possible! So, I know it’s kind of cliche now that the poor girl falls in love with the rich guy. It’s a common trope among dramas, but of course we don’t get tired of the rich and handsome guys of F4! As in never get tired of them!

And to make it much better–or worse? but that’s up to you–the drama made these four flower boys even more desirable bachelors. You’ll easily know about how different and better they are right from the first episode when a random Junior walks up to Shan Cai, Qing He and Li Zhen and tells them about the popular F4.

Dao Ming Si may be the forever pineapple haired guy (his hairstyle gets even better too!), but he’s now finally equipped with the knowledge of being able to speak three or four languages and a talent for business. The old Dao Ming Si can’t even get a quote right, which was really funny back then. He was handsome and rich, but not so smart. But now he can just be everything, well except for the short temper and his anger management problems plus obsession for Shan Cai.

Hua Ze Lei used to be just quiet and snobbish like a cold prince in the older versions, but this drama made it so that they could explain his introverted behavior as related from the slight autism he had when he was a kid and is supposedly cured by the great Teng Tang Jing. Can you even cure autism? I made my own research and gladly they said a minority portion of those people with autism get cured depending on the severity of their autism and the therapies they go through over the years, but its still debatable. However, giving this drama the benefit of the doubt, this is fiction. I’m not gotta criticize it for not knowing any better. For sure, they know what they are doing.

Mei Zuo and Xi Men – so they’re like the third in command in all the versions if you ask me. I’m pretty sure, in terms of appearance, they are of equal importance. Two obnoxious, overprotective friends with a tendency to womanize. I see women hanging around them everywhere, but that’s their role. It’s the casanovas that are more interesting to watch. However, like I said they are the ‘much improved’ versions: wherein Mei Zuo has an impeccable memory that they can never lose in the card game ‘Bridge’ and Xi Men has a liking for tea, due to his family background.

I’m not sure if this is going to sound nicer and may help them look smarter, but I think this version of F4 is the milder, much civilized guys. I mean, they don’t bully someone so randomly out of the blue and make their lives a living hell. Instead, as it was explained, they are so good at the card game ‘Bridge’ (that they even have a club for that!) that many people want to challenge them and to stop anyone from just randomly challenging them, they set an odd rule that you need to first receive the ‘Joker’ card as an invitation for a Bridge match.

That doesn’t sound like much what would bad boys do, right? It would have been nicer if they stuck to the original, but I guess this isn’t so bad either. At least, if they challenge somebody it would make much more sense. Plus, they look really cool playing that game.

Hello ‘Joker’! – So, bye bye to that red card that Dao Ming Si used to send his victims and say ‘hello’ to the less threatening ‘Joker’ card in your locker. Prepare to lose in the game of Bridge with F4 and eat some slippers as the consequence!

At least, it’s befitting for them to use the card, though, right?

College and Milk Tea – I get it every version of Shan Cai is different that’s why she’s a freshman in the Nutrition course here and she works part time at a milk tea shop called ‘Talented’ with Xiao Yu.

 Fights and Reconciliations – Well, I remember Li Zhen–Shan Cai’s newfound friend–also liking Dao Ming Si in the past and because she’s jealous of Shan Cai she intentionally sets her up so that she looks like she slept with someone she met at a club.

The same friend betrays her in this version, but her reason is sort of different and somehow ‘coincidental’ and Shan Cai ends up forgiving her because she’s just that kind of person and Dao Ming Si can never have a say about it or kick her out of university since he doesn’t own it. But at least, all is well. And to be honest, I like how things ended up well between these two friends in this version, since the problem arose from something trivial and it’s just unreasonable for someone to drop out because they were being bullied for some petty reason, right?

Meteor Garden 2018 gets you hooked by these positive changes and makes the drama a bit lighter than its older versions that are leaning more on its dramatic quotient.

However, on another note, I must admit that Shan Cai didn’t experience as much hardship as the old Shan Cai did. Dao Ming Si bullies her in the most childish sense, plotting childish jokes that you can’t call disturbing. I guess, because he’s been sheltered for long enough and didn’t grow up dating girls left and right, that he is having a hard time expressing himself to her and with his very impatient personality makes him extremely possessive of her.

The lack of emotional turmoil boxes the potential of each of them to do even better in portraying their role, however.

So, in a nutshell, Meteor Garden looks totally brand new with the many additions, but still has more room to improve with the acting. Not saying, they aren’t good, but there got to be something more with that actor or actress. So, I’m looking forward to improvement until it’s 48th episode!

Fast Pacing

Is it just me or this drama is moving too quickly that I’m getting worried what more will they show in the next 44 to 48 episodes?

Not that I am complaining about the quick pacing, it’s just that maybe I am not used to it. The Taiwanese version really had a slow, agonizing pace that I would not really stick to it until the end if I had to do a marathon, while this one was just like leafing through pages in a book while only skimming it very briefly, which I think is good but pretty worrisome. Not unless they have more to show that won’t be dragging and not just a filler, then I guess the pacing should be fine.

Total Flower Boys

I can definitely say that this version totally left me drooling at the boys. All of them are really good looking you can’t say they’re a waste. They do have their different charms that set them apart from each other, but in total all of them are likable eye-candies!

I used to be a solid Hua Ze Lei kind of girl, but after watching Dylan Wang portray Dao Ming Si, I can’t help but fawn over the boy. He just fits the prickly, childish and short-tempered rich boy role that’s not too rough but not kind looking either. At some points, he’s cute and surprisingly I don’t despise him for childishly annoying Shan Cai.

The Strong-willed Wild Flower that often bends

You can say that Shan Cai is that heroine who doesn’t easily back down from a challenge. She’s always been stubborn and antagonizing, especially towards Dao Ming Si. She’s been consistent in this love-hate relationship they have that sometimes it’s hard to believe how they ended up together.

But I must say I sometimes feel anxious about Shen Yue’s version of Shan Cai. She’s a good actress and its nice she can easily tear up when an emotional scene comes up, but why do I feel like this Shan Cai is being more fickle now than before? She’s fickle that I find it annoying she lets Dao Ming Si kiss her without a fight even when she likes Hua Ze Lei. I think she sounds more like a pushover or a very easy person, especially when she lets Hua Ze Lei kiss her after just seeing him kiss another girl without any second thoughts and while bringing her along with him at the beach.

A Real Douche

Excuse me for my opinion, but now that I’ve watched this version, I can’t help but think Hua Ze Lei is the real douche here and not Dao Ming Si, who did nothing but devotedly love Dong Shan Cai, I mean, Lei may appear like a cool guy because he’s quiet and introverted and he doesn’t look like he can play any tricks at girls, but the thing is he keeps stringing Shan Cai along–even kissing her cheek without any proper reason and even if he didn’t like her back then when he did it–even if he likes Jing. He even follows her to Paris and lives with her, but just because she doesn’t make time for him and he’s not man enough to be able to save their relationship, that he leaves and shakes up Dao Ming Si and Shan Cai’s blossoming love-hate relationship.

Well, I’m not saying he’s bad, but still for sure no one wants to be the second option when it comes to the person you like. No matter what, a girl needs to have some self-respect and can’t treat herself unjustly by having false hopes that one day this stupid guy will look at you. And Lei shouldn’t be that guy that gives her false hopes just because he knew she likes her and then only goes back to her after realizing Jing doesn’t need him. That’s just plain stupid. Like seriously. I’d rather pick the person who genuinely likes me more and not the person who will only give me the second place. You won’t be truly happy with someone who only puts you second in his life.

Romance

It’s still so complicated like before that it’s unbelievable. I can’t say that there will be such romance in reality, but nonetheless, I totally feel like the chemistry between Dylan Wang and Shen Yue is like second nature to them that you may find them rather unarguably cute together and suited for each other. Together, they make my heart really flutter like a teenager and grin like an idiot nonstop.

Over all

Surprisingly, I think I am being won over by this drama to another level after watching its first few episodes. Of course, I  had  my own doubts upon hearing another remake is on its way, but with some leap of faith that it wouldn’t just be some cheap drama remake, I think that it’s worth the wait and the time I invested on watching it.

I can’t say that it surpassed the other versions, because they all have their different charms. But I can probably say that Meteor Garden 2018 managed to surpass itself.  With its impeccable cast and the awesome production and directing, it surpassed expectations of most Meteor Garden fans.

Plus, add the fact that its very lighthearted in its element compared to the past versions and really much cuter that it must attract, too, the younger audience.

I will not dwell with the fact, though, that it’s pretty long for 40+ episodes times 40 minutes worth of TV viewing per episode and will just enjoy the flow of things while it can entertain me so I wouldn’t overthink about its length being a disadvantage at this time. Maybe they can use it to their advantage too, but who knows? Only time will tell.

Nonetheless, I will recommend this to anybody who just simply loves Meteor Garden at any day. You should try it if you’re up for another Meteor Garden fever and be charmed by the eternal F4!

I will rate this drama 4.7 out of 5 for surprising me and getting me hooked!

See you later for my On going and Final review for this drama in the future!

  First Impression: Meteor Garden (2018) I'm not really a big fan of C-dramas or Meteor Garden, but who will forget this phenomenal drama that started from a Japanese manga until it became a TV series that probably has the most remakes?