#can't beat the kdrama scene on that

[michyeosseo]

semidoyi backstory;

title taken from lyrics to lifts, c/o my 아두 derangement playlist ♡

[ohifonlyx33]

i just think kdrama watchers are probably best equipped to understand the type of character Malyen Oretsev was written to be in the books. send tweet

[bluehwale]

unconventional first encounters with ateez

part one // part two

pairing. ateez x reader (specifically fem! reader for seonghwa's & jongho's)

genre. fluff, humor, this is a headcanon with a teensy bit of thriller and fantasy (and maybe sci-fi)

warning(s). a creepy man stalking u (san's part), swearing, mentions of drinking alcohol, mentions of murder without actual murder, a crazy toxic ex (jongho's part), mingi had a one night stand, mentions of nudity without actual nudity, this is not proofread, seonghwa’s scenes are inspired by the kdrama “youth of may”

word count. 8.7k (sorry in advance)

note. i’ve created a monster… the 3k words headcanon suddenly snowballed into almost 9k oops i think i had too much fun writing this,, anyways please tell me ur favorites! mine would be seonghwa’s, wooyoung’s, and yunho’s bc it may or may not be inspired by a true story,,, (if u notice me reusing a trope in this hc,,,,, no u don’t)

masterlist

kim hongjoong

you're in a skateboard park

"why did you follow me here?"mingi slurps on his juicebox as he steps on the nose of his skateboard, "you don't even skate."

you turn to look at him and cheekily grin

"is it wrong to want to spend time with my bestfriend?"

mingi raises a brow

okay fine

he's right

you don't skate and you basically see mingi everyday at campus so you're actually kind of sick of him (don't tell him that)

so you're not really here for him

"just go do your thing," you make shooing gestures at the boy with pink hair as you turn to plop down on the side walk

"i'll sit here and watch."

:-D

sit and watch one of the most attractive guys you've ever seen skateboard

kim hongjoong

and there he is

laughing with his friends and doing little skateboard tricks that you can't name

everytime you look at him you hear sk8ter boi by avril lavigne playing as the background music

it's not a crush btw you just think he's super cool

you're falling in love with him

mingi blinks twice at you and proceeds to follow your line of sight

"oh c'mon."

"what??" you huff, trying to avoid his judgemental glare, "i just think he's cute, okay???"

"yeah but i thought whatever phase you had over him would be over by now."

well u thought wrong !!!!! >:-D

"instead of ogling over him, you should try skating."

mingi throws away his empty juicebox in a nearby trash can and drops his board before gently kicking it in your direction

the board hits your feet

"you're trying to kill me?" you deadpan before kicking the board back to his direction

"oh come on!" mingi flails his arms around as he whines "it'll be fun!!!!!"

"fun for you," you snort while trying to look over his gigantic ass that's currently blocking your view, "i'll probably end up with a broken arm."

mingi suddenly grabs onto your hands and pull you up

"nonsense! i'm right here-" he adjusts you on his skateboard and makes sure both your feet are planted firmly on it, "- i won't let anything happen to you :-D"

the thing is

you love your best friend

but you absolutely cannot trust him in situations like this

you were about to hop off his board and make a run for it

but mingi starts rolling you forward gently

"dUDE!" you yelp, immediately holding tight on his arms that are still gripping you as you both move around the park

"bro calm down, we're going at like 5 kilometers per hour"

and you both kinda go at it for awhile

and oh

oHHH!

wait a minute

this is actually pretty fun !!!!!! :-D

mingi laughs at your excited grin

"see! i told you it's fun!!!!"

okay yeah he's right about this one

"now you try on your own !!!!!"

sometimes mingi forgets that not everyone can do what he does

he releases his hold on you and gives you a push

your eyes widen

your best friend hollers when the board starts going faster

"MINGI I DON'T KNOW HOW TO STOP THIS THING"

"WAIT Y/N WATCH OUT! THERE'S A--"

you shriek as you hurdle to the ground and the skateboard kinda just tumbles behind you

"a pothole that hasn't been fixed," mingi winces before slowly walking over towards you

but someone beats him to it

"hey are you okay? that was a pretty rough fall"

you look up to see a boy with half of his short hair dyed blonde and the other half black, his wide eyes pooling with concern

cue sk8ter boi by avril lavigne

if he's here........ that means he must've seen you embarrassingly fall flat on your face and basically eat the ground

okay, your dramatic ass actually didn't even fall face first to the ground but,,

you somehow ended up with having your palms and knees on the ground

and the kim hongjoong is right in front of you

..........you had to resist the urge to curl up and die

"i-i'm fine-- ouch," you hiss as you move to push off the ground

exposing your now bloody knees and scratched up palms

apparently you're not fine

"oh no," hongjoong frowns, gently cradling one of your bleeding hands in both of his and you kinda have to muffle back your scream because oMG

he lets go of your hand and kinda digs around in his pants' pocket to pull out what looks like an antiseptic spray thing and a

and a box of pink disney princesses band aids

you didn't know skater boys can be this cute?????? HE'S SO CUTE???????

"i got just the right things to fix you up!" he exclaims and looks over at you for permission, "is it okay if i do it for you?"

you can only nod

meanwhile, mingi's just kinda standing awkwardly on the sidelines while watching the boy disinfect your wounds with the spray

and he sees that hongjoong immediately strikes you into a conversation in an attempt to distract you from the pain once he sees you flinching

and he's just inwardly going wooooo yeah !!!!!! go gET IT Y/N!!!!!!

hongjoong was starting to open the box of bandaids when he notices that you're staring a hole into his busy hands

"don't judge me for these, i just picked up the first ones i see," he says, thinking that you're probably staring at the bandaids because you're thinking of how weird it is for an emo-looking guy like him to have pink bandaids, "i think they're pretty cool anyways."

"yeah, they are cool," you scoot closer to him, "i was just hoping you have either tiana or rapunzel. they're my favorite princesses."

well

hongjoong thinks that's wildly endearing somehow

if he ends up not having two of the princesses in his remaining band-aid pack, he's definitely running to the nearest drugstore to get a new one

just for you :-D

he chuckles and digs around the box to hopefully see a bandaid with a princess dressed in green or another one dressed in purple

as he finishes placing the band-aids on your injuries, he stood up and offers a hand to pull you up

"i'm hongjoong."

yeah you know

you return his name with your own and he softly smiles when repeating your name under his breath

"y/n, try not to get hurt when i see you next time."

park seonghwa

"let's get married."

you almost spurt out the complimentary water you were drinking

what in the arrranged marriage bullshit????

you finally agreed to go on one of many blind dates your mother has arranged to hopefully marry you off in hopes of merging your family company with another powerful company

to which your personal chef, wooyoung, proposed a plan (that had yeosang, your personal assistant, immediately going on his knees to beg you not to do)

wooyoung calls it operation zombie bride

which roughly translates to 'make yourself an undesirable wife'

but you didn't even get the chance to get your acting game going because this park seonghwa of park enterprises is already asking for your hand in marriage

right after you took a seat across him and managed to take ONE sip of the glass of water prepared on your table

"have you lost your mind??" you sputter while trying to swallow down the bits of water you're currently choking on, "you don't even know me!"

seonghwa raises a brow and opens his mouth, ready to retort back to your challenging remark when a waitress come up to your table

"may i start you both with a drink?"

"yes please," you try to force your hiccups to a stop so you can deadpan at the admittedly handsome man in front of you, "i'll have a bottle of beer."

the waitress visibly tries to stifle her surprise because it's currently 11 am and it's unheard of for people like you in a fancy restaurant like this to order the alcoholic drink

but yeah it's none of her business so she just took both of your orders and leaves :-D

"i guess you like to drink."

it's no question that you both obviously know of each other

having both been raised in similar worlds to be the perfect heir to be handed the family company

but you'll show him just how much he doesn't know you

you can somehow hear wooyoung's evil cackles from here

"yes," you widen your eyes and hope that you look unhinged enough, "i can't live without it. whenever i feel sober, my hands tremble like crazy."

wooyoung would be so proud that you've perfectly recited the first part of the script he wrote

"i see." an intrigued brow raises at your direction as seonghwa calmly leans back into his chair with a-

HOLD ON WHY IS HE SMIRKING??????????

things are not supposed to go this way

he's supposed to be at least slightly irked by your behavior at this point

the amused smirk still plays on his lips and you were about to openly berate him for being a weird idiot before the waitress comes back with your drinks

at the sight of the bottle of beer and a tall glass set beside it on your table, you think of backing out

you absolutely HATE beer

but you don't want to marry a guy you just met!!!!!

so you sucked it up and gulped down the glass of beer after the waitress poured the alcohol in it to the brim

ggaAAH this shit tastes like piss

you slam the now empty glass on the table before letting out a loud aHHH~ as you smack your lips obnoxiously

and you feel the side of your lip twitch upwards when you see his surprised face

(ﾉ>ω<)ﾉ :｡･:*:･ﾟ’★,｡･:*:･ﾟ’☆ wooyoung's plan is wooooorking~!

"may i have a sip?"

record scratch. the earth stops rotating. pause.

"it's just, you make it look so delicious," seonghwa nods at the bottle before pushing down the cuffs of his grey suit and you swear you see his mirthful eyes twinkle when they meet your own gobsmacked ones

without waiting for an answer, he grabs the remaining beer in the bottle and lets the drink tip into his mouth as he knocks his head back to avoid touching his lips to the bottle

you kinda wish they did- AYYYOO?? U DID NOT THINK THAT NO U DIDN'T YOU DON'T FIND THIS MAN ATTRACTIVE AT ALL--

seonghwa lets out a rasped guttural sigh before he hums out, "now this is some nice beer." as he twirls the bottle in hands to look at its label before returning it back beside your glass

you do not find this man drinking alcohol attractive. you repeat, you do not find this man drinking alcohol attractive.

he sends another smirk your way

time to resort to the second half of the script

you rest your elbows on the table and lean closer to the man in front of you as your eyes narrow, "i've been told that i'm picky when it comes to who i date."

you wait for him to start spewing out random nonsense about some bullshit or the "nice guys always finish last" rant but he surprisingly stays silent and motions a hand for you to elaborate

"i don't want a man that expects me to cook or clean," you tilt your head back and give him a smirk of your own, "i'm not the type to stay home and cook for my husband. my career is more important."

he stays silent, and you can't help but feel a tad bit disappointed that maybe he's just like any other man-

"i like it."

ngl you almost went apeshit after hearing that

"my ideal type is an ambitious woman."

maybe your heart went pitter patter hearing that but no!!! you're not getting married!!!!

"i'll never want to have kids!" you grasp at straws, blindingly saying anything that will hopefully give him the ick because mhm yeah he definitely looks like a guy who want kids of his own yeah you got this

but he shrugs it off with a wave of his hand, "that's up to the woman, of course. i won't force you to do anything."

you're fucked.

"you're not as picky as i thought," seonghwa hums as another smirk, this time teasing, curls up on his face

you kinda want to smack it off

he matches your stance as he too, leans closer to you, and he tucks a stray hair behind your ear

"i guess we're pretty compatible, future wife."

jeong yunho

tonight is THE night

your finals are finally over and honestly you don't know if you did a good job at it

but that's for future yn to think about

because present yn is gonna go party it up tonight!!!!

yuh B-)

a new club just opened nearby and it looks pretty cool so you and your friends decided to go there

you have on your cutest outfit with your hair and makeup done

and you're sO excited !! >:-D

"y/n."

"hm?" you turn to face wooyoung, one of your best friends, who currently has his arms crossed and a serious look on his face

cue your cheeky grin and your not so innocent batting eyes

before every outings that involves drinking, wooyoung always gives you the talk because... well,,

one time, none of your friends couldn't find you anywhere in the club because you ended up in a nearby seafood restaurant with your whole face inside one of the aquariums (you don't know how you ended up there and yes it was gross and yes wooyoung had to pay for all the damages)

but the thing is, even though wooyoung threatens reminds you every single time before you drink to not get too crazy, it happens anyway

you don't know why he even bother

(he's handcuffed himself to you once and the night ended with both of his hands cuffed together while you were nowhere to be found)

so yeah aha

"you know the drill," wooyoung deadpans, "it's extra crowded tonight so i want you to be within my sight at all times."

that should be easy

you give him a mock salute, "got it, dad!"

you do feel bad for your friends who have to take care of you whenever you're drunk so you're gonna limit yourself to only 3 shots tonight

yeah you can do that !!! :-D

.........

turns out,,, you can't limit your insatiable drinking habits

you lost count over how many glasses you've had and oh my god wooyoung's gonna be so pissed!!!!

you don't even know where he is

you're just lazing around in between the swarm of bodies on the dance floor

you've gotten to the point where the high to dance waded off and now you just want to sit down and relax

and that's exactly what you were gonna do

until you accidentally stumbled out of the club

"woah!"

everything seems to fall into slow motion

next thing you know, you're engulfed into a pair of arms, your face crashing against a warm pair of tiddies chest that cushions your landing after you drunkenly fling yourself out of the club's exit

a pair of large and warm hands cup around your waist to steady you

your dazed eyes look up to see a man with sleepy doe eyes that blinks in surprise and soft chocolate hair that's slightly tousled

he looks adorable (this is you speaking)

and hot (this is your drunken alter ego speaking)

and you're pretty sure you're gaping like a fish

mom i want him

you wrap your previously flailing arms around his waist, unconsciously pulling him closer as you happily croon

"yooou look like myh future boyfriend!"

the handsome man in your embrace lets out a deep chuckle as amusement crosses his face before concern pools in his eyes once he belatedly realizes the state that you're in

if you weren't so drunk right now, you'd probably swoon over how respectful his hand placements are; his hands lift to linger above your waist as he tries to keep you steady-- not touching you but also making sure he'd be able to catch you in case you topple off him

the bare minimum but it's still cute ok

"hi," he softly greets and you have to bend your neck all the way up because tHIS MAN IS TALL just so you can continue staring at his face in awe

"you're sooo tall !!oof-" you drunkenly stumble more into him as you loudly remark on his height, gaining attention to the both of you

he protectively pulls you in just a little bit closer to him, eyes taking in the amount of iffy strangers that have their eyes lingering on you for too long

"do you know where your friends are?" he softly hums, gently brushing away the sweaty strands of hair that stuck to your face so he can look at you properly

yunho knows he can't leave you alone, not with how your eyes are drooping and your speech slurring even though he desperately wants to catch up on more sleep after he did a little snack run to the convenience store

and it's currently 4 hours before he has to wake up for his morning class :-(

he knows he'll regret not getting enough sleep for his class but,,,

he'll regret it even more if he just leave you all alone

"they're all inside!" you giggle while your finger points to the entrance of the club

a bout of chilly wind suddenly breezes past you and you shiver because oH NO you left your purse and coat in the lockers!!!!!-

a warm jacket that smells of vanilla and steamed milk suddenly sits atop your shoulders

"are you cold?" the boy in front of you frowns as he adjusts his grey jacket over your body, "you should call your friends and ask them to come get you."

you didn't even notice when he gently pried your arms off him so he can shrug off the jacket he's wearing to give to you

hE'S SO-

the boy yelps when a shoe is suddenly hurled in his direction and nearly whacks him in the face, "what the fu-"

"hEY !!!!!!!"

you both turn at the sound of the high pitched shriek to see a tiny boy with red hair and smoke coming out of his ears while holding a purse and two coats with one of his socked feet missing a shoe

"gET YOUR HANDS OFF THEM!" wooyoung dashes at you both with an inhuman speed and launches himself to grab you by the wrist and tuck you behind him

"sorry man," the kind stranger lifts both of his arms into the air to show that he means no harm, "i was trying to help them find their way back to their friends."

wooyoung's like oh when he turns back to see you nod in confirmation and his hostility diminishes in an instant

"oh thanks man :-D i guess you're cool :-D what's your name :-D ?"

"it's yunho."

"well, i'm y/n!! and this is my best friend oomph- wooyoung!!!!!!"

and wooyoung's like c'mon y/n we have to get you back to the dorms and you're like waIT A MINUTE I HAVE TO RETURN THIS JACKET-

"no it's okay you can keep it," yunho assures you with a shy smile

"you look better in it anyway."

he's so- ahaue@$#@3ahgru

"take out your phone." you hiccup and yunho shoots you a confused look but obeys anyway

"listen carefully," you cutely hiccup again with your hands on your waist and yunho has to stifle a laugh at your endearing antics, "i'm gonna recite my number for you."

at that, yunho's eyes comically widen and he fumbles to quickly pull up the phone app

"i'm listening!!!"

kang yeosang

when you ordered for an android that will help you around your apartment, you did not expect this

"delivery for y/n?"

you excitedly peer at the tall box that was wheeled in by the delivery man after thanking him

only faltering once you notice something odd

the label on the box reads KYS-1117

hmmmmmmm

you're sure that you made an order for PSH-1024, an android that's promised to be a clean freak and will keep your housing as neat as possible

pshhhh there's no way a highly renowned tech company that sells expensive androids could make a simple mistake like that right? :-D

yeah ! :-D

so you grab your exacto knife and get to the best part of receiving packages -- unboxing !!!!!

you excitedly dive into ripping the box apart, mindlessly flinging away the handbook that was neatly attached to it because how hard can it be to activate an android?

a very handsome android, it turns out

you peer through the glass window of the white pod that houses a blonde boy laying so peacefully you almost didn't want to wake him up

you fumble around and managed to press a button that lifts the lid of the pod, emanating trendils of mist to reveal a clearer vision of the boy with golden blonde hair, eyes closed as if in a deep sleep

"woah," you murmur, bringing your head closer to take a better look at the android. you somehow expected a normal looking one instead of an android who looks like he just won a beauty peagant but hey,,, you're not complaining :3

you crawl across your living room, grabbing the handbook you set aside and immediately flip open to the first page

how to turn on your android: a guide

aha! here we go

you reach out to poke around the android's neck to press on the disguised button to power him up, ignoring the flame scorching your cheeks at the thinning distance between you and his face

his eyelashes flutter as his eyes slowly open and falls on you as you back away from his personal space

you just kinda stay on your knees (not in that way!!!) in front of his pod, because well..... you don't know what to say to him.....

he's slowly blinking, seemingly fighting sleep, as he trains his gaze on you

this is awkward........ (〃￣ω￣〃ゞ

the silence stretches for another minute before the blonde beauty finally speaks

"There must be something wrong with my eyes."

"huh??" you panic, quickly turning back to the handbook in your hands and flipping the pages frantically. "what's wrong?? does it hurt??? maybe there's something about that in here--"

"... Because I can't take them off you."

:-D ....

you're ... gobsmacked

"uHHH ahhahahHHahHa, nice joke?????"

you really don't know what to say

he smiles, effectively blinding you because, holy shit, this man is too good looking to be an android cleaner wtf, and he gracefully steps out of his pod and crouches down in front of you to tuck your hair behind your ear WHAT IS HAPPENING

"What's your name, doll?"

d-d-doll ????

"uh,,,, it's y/n"

"It's nice to meet you, Y/n. I'm KYS-1117, you can call me Yeosang."

he flashes another charming smile and oop yeah that's all it takes

if you weren't kneeling on the floor, you'd probably pass out

but wait a minute,,,, did he say-

"huh,,,, they did get the order wrong," you mumble to yourself

you don't notice yeosang's face contorting in confusion

"Am I not to your liking?"

your eyes snap back to his warm brown eyes that flashes a hint of hurt before disappearing all too quick

oh no

you managed to hurt an android's feelings (ﾒ﹏ﾒ)

"no no !!!! there's nothing wrong on your part !!" you vigorously shake both of your hands in front of you. "it's just,, i think they sent me.... uh, the wrong ..... android."

"Oh."

yeah...... oh

"Would you like me to contact our customer service? You'll be guaranteed to receive your correct order and compensation, of course."

yeosang lowers his head to face the floor while his voice falls flat; a stark contrast to the charismatic lilt he greeted with you previously

you don't need a degree in psychology to tell that he's visibly upset at the fact that you're gonna return him

it makes you feel worse because no !! this isn't your fault

and you can't ignore the fact that he looks absolutely human right now

okay, you do have to give props to the tech company who, despite messing up your order, did a good job at making their androids realistic

maybe a bit too good because,,, you're getting swayed by him rn

which is weird because aren't androids supposed to NOT have emotions?????

you sigh to yourself

"can you clean?"

the blonde snaps his head to look at you. "I'm sorry?"

woop here it goes

"i'm not returning you," you shrug. "i bet that's gonna take another 2 months to process and i don't see why i should do that when i have you."

you can see the gears turning in his head as he tries to process what you just said

you give him a small smile that you hope is comforting and that it somehow tells him that he's not going back to (you presume) a lab that's probably a hellhole

he perks up at your words, his body rocking back and forth as he excitedly informs you, "I'm not specifically programmed to be a cleaner android, but I can learn! I'm known to be a fast learner!"

"okay,,,,, that's settled then!" you happily reply

this is great, a win-win solution! maybe you should also ask yeosang to get compensation for the mistake they made without returning him

in that way,, you won't have to wait for ages to get another android and you get money !!!!!!

phew

"if you don't mind me asking, what are you specifically programmed to do?"

"Oh! I'm a boyfriend android!"

what did he SAY (o_O) !

bonus

... "yeosang,, why do you talk like that?"

"Ah. Is the way I talk not to your liking?"

you shake your head frantically, "no!! no!!!! it's nothing like that! just that you kinda talk like you use proper capitalization and punctuation all the time aha"

yeosang blinks

"Am I not supposed to?"

"no!!! it's perfectly fine,, i was just hoping you could be more relaxed around me :-D"

relax. yeosang tilts his head at that word

"I am. Relaxed."

you stare at him

his ramrod straight back against your couch, feet planted perfectly side by side on your floor and his hands placed politely on his lap

meanwhile, your figure sprawls messily on the spot next to him

"yeah,,,, okay"

choi san

you felt it once you stepped foot outside the 24 hours supermarket

that feeling of someone watching you

you try to quench it down, thinking that it's just paranoia creeping on you because it's almost 3 am and eerily dark outside

but then you hear it

footsteps.

not too loud, as if the person does not want to be heard, and you realize that their footfalls match yours

they're keeping up with your pace

you feel your heart rapidly race as you curse yourself for leaving your phone because it's charging back home

is it a good idea to run?

you discreetly turn your head to the side, seeing a man way bigger than you with his hood up in your peripheral vision

and his dark gaze straight on you

shit

you attempt your best at nonchalantly flicking your head back forward, hoping that he doesn't realize that you know that he's following you

the streets and sidewalk both remain empty, rows of closed shops greeting you instead of any taxis or people that could help you

you're completely on your own

you inwardly sigh, making a detour to head towards the main street because there's no way in hell you're leading this creep straight back to where you live and if you can be in a busier street, that would be much better

after walking for what felt like hours, you notice the unmistaken colorful lights that shine red, orange, and green from a convenience store's banner

omg

!!! a convenience store !!!!!!

you quickly pick up your pace, not caring over how the man behind you also start to fasten their steps, and you immediately swing open the glass door once your fingers grasp at the handle

your eyes fall to the cashier, a teenager, probably, who looks like he's not older than 18, and at the brink of dozing off into a deep sleep

tears prick your eyes as you feel the panic finally start to overwhelm you because you don't think this kid can do anything besides being scared with you if you drag him into this

but you kinda have no choice

as you step further inside the convenience store, ready to approach him, you notice a mop of messy raven hair near the cold drinks aisle

you feel the presence of the creepy man looming behind you, ready to step into the convenience store as well

you gulp, shivers running down your spine at the thought of being in a close proximity with the stalker

hell no

the cashier's way too close to the entrance

you need to move somewhere further away

you make a beeline for the raven haired boy at the back of the store grabbing two small sized cartons of milk, tightly lacing your arms around his side, your groceries in a bag swishing wildly against him as he looks at you in surprise

"hi, babe!" you loudly greet the stranger, making sure the man who just rang the bell atop the convenience store door as he enters heard you

you shoot wide eyed glances that hopefully screams 'help!' at your temporary pretend boyfriend

who happens to be very handsome btw

"i'm sorry i took so long, you must've been waiting for me," you continue, eyes roaming around the store and quickly spotting the man in front of the aisle you're both in, quietly listening on to your conversation. "the grocery store was so far away! i shouldn't have insisted on going out alone."

the boy you're latching onto must've gotten the memo (at speed record too!) as he quickly wraps an arm around your waist, pulling you closer to him and he lets out a chuckle

"it's okay, baby. let me just pay for these, yeah? mingi and wooyoung are waiting for us in the car outside."

he purposefully raises his voice at the last sentence, making sure that the creep he noticed won't stop staring at you would understand that it'll be a 3 against 1 if he tries anything

gently tugging you by your waist to the other side of the store, away from the man's prying eyes, the boy takes you in with concern furrowing his brows

"are you okay?" he softly whispers, grasping the two cartons of milk in one hand as his other move from your waist to settle comfortingly on your shoulder to soothe you

"yeah," comes your shaky reply, eyes still glancing warily towards the front of the store. "just need to get him off me."

"do you want me to drive you home?" he asks, face quickly grimacing at his insensitivity and he scrambles to replace his offer. "ah, that probably sounds scary. do you want me to call you a cab instead?"

you thank the universe for gracing you with the kindness of this stranger

"sure, that sounds good."

you both finally arrive to the cashier after circling the store, waking up the cashier who begins to lazily ring up the boy's items

his arm wraps around your waist again once he notices the man lingering too close to the both of you and he quickly grabs his paid items after muttering a small 'thank you' before dashing out the door with you by his side

you look behind you, freezing when you see the man with his eyes still on you beyond the glass doors

"the passenger seat's empty, you can sit here first while waiting for your cab, if you want," the raven haired boy offers, opening the passenger seat door of the car parked right outside the store

you enter the car, letting the boy shut the door beside you as you settle down and try to calm your racing heart

"hiiiiiiiiiiiiiii !!!!!!-- uhmm, who are you?"

you turn to the backseat to see a redhead with a nosy expression, his limbs tangled with a blonde boy's own limbs who also sports the same expression, although his looks more confused than nosy

"some creep was following them on their way home," said the raven haired boy, already settling down on his own seat and shutting the door as you look over to the driver's side

"what?" an angry yell sounds from behind, the blonde seemingly trying to untangle himself from the redhead as he desperately tries to claw the car window. "that fucker!"

"mingi!" reprimands his friend in the driver's seat, his head shaking at his friend's antics and he looks at you with an apologetic look. "sorry about him, they both had a little too much to drink. i'm san, by the way"

"san," you repeat his name, and told him yours. "thank you for helping me back there."

"of course," san gives you a dimpled smile, pulling out a pack of mint chewing gum out of the plastic bag and offering it to you. "i heard chewing gum helps when you're nervous."

you must've been too focused on the man near you while he was paying that you didn't notice him grabbing it

and you know that you're not supposed to accept candy from a stranger but you kinda need it ok

"oh, thank you so much," you shyly thank him as you grab the pack. "you didn't have to."

"yeah, but i wanted to," he says, giving you another smile before grabbing the two cartons of milk and tossing them to his friends

"oUUUCH!!!!!! san you hit my head!!" the redhead wails, grabbing his head with both hands in dramaticized agony after the boxed milk bounces off his head while the blonde angrily yells that he does not want milk!!!!!!!

"a bunch of kids, both of you," san tiredly sighs and you almost giggle at his funny expression that resembles an exhausted dad dealing with his two rowdy toddlers

"drink the milk! you need to neutralize!"

"I DON'T WANT TO!!!!!!!"

"MINGI SHUT UP YOU'RE MAKING MY HEAD HURT EVEN MORE"

what a cute friend group

you ended up asking san to drive you home because somehow, you feel like you can trust him

(he drove you home safely with his two drunken friends singing 2000s hits all the way home and you both exchanged numbers)

song mingi

the biggest regret of your life is moving in to a shared apartment that was listed on craiglist

yeah.... you don't know what you were thinking

your roommate is literally a descendant from hell

and not in the cool sexy demon way

but in the 'i've made it my job to make your life a living hell' kinda way

besides the fact that:

a) she never cleans up after herself (whether it be dishes, laundry, or anything, really) and,

b) she acts like you're the bane of her existence,,,

it feels like she has a guy over every night

and honestly, you have no qualms about her getting dicked down because good for her

but the walls are PAPER THIN

you really wonder how she never got a noise complaint over how loud she is

and you have to applaud her for her stamina because they would go for hoouuurs and you'd end up watching the sun rise without getting a wink of sleep everytime

it's gotten to the point where your friends are concerned because you'd show up to class or hangouts with eyebags and a murderous look on your face

your sleep schedule is so messed up

you'd do all your assignments during the night with your headphones in, go to classes during the day, then pass out right after your classes end

all of your friends are kinda on edge around you because they're scared you're gonna Snap™ one day lmao

anyways, you were just chilling one night with your headphones in (which you immediately put on after hearing the unmistakable high pitched noises coming from your roommate's room), waiting for it to be 8 am so you can go to your morning class

when your laptop suddenly lost connection to your wifi

and you hate working on your google docs offline !!!! >:-(

so you forced yourself to get up and go to the living room to see what's going on with your wifi router

only to find a butt naked man hovering over it

eeEEK

"what the fuck!!!" you scream, grabbing the nearest thing to you (a throw pillow on the couch) and launching it on the stranger who's very much naked in your living room

"what--" the man cries out, looking back to see you with your eyes closed just as the pillow bounces off his head. "who the fuck are you??"

you wish you kept your eyes open just to let him see your eyeroll but you quickly scratch that thought because you really don't want to see a stranger's dick at 7 in the morning

your nostrils flare at the nerve of whoever this guy is at your apartment

"excuse me??? who the fuck are you?"

turns out, his name is mingi, and you came to know of it after he got appropriately dressed, turned on and off your wifi router, and sat down across you to enjoy his breakfast that you made

you also came to learn that he's the one who made your roommate sound like a literal pornstar last night

"so, uhh.." the blonde awkwardly starts, gripping his cutlery as he pathetically tries to strike up a conversation while you're busy wolfing down your breakfast. "you cook often?"

the simple question turns into a long conversation that you surprisingly find yourself enjoying

not only is he super cute,,,, but he's also so fun to tease

you move to clear away both of your plates and mingi looks up to you in awe, "that was the best breakfast i've ever had."

you smile, "sure, and that will be $53."

"huh?"

your raise a brow, "you think i'm giving you free breakfast?"

you laugh when you see him scramble to pull out his phone and ask you for your venmo

"dude, i was just kidding," you reassure him, "but please give me a heads up if you're coming over to fuck my roommate again. i couldn't get a wink of sleep last night."

mingi turns a bright shade of red

jung wooyoung

you can't believe it

never in your life would you think you'd be a witness to MURDER

you were just calmly walking back home after meeting up with your friends when you spot a guy with both of his arms pointed to the sky

you had a "little bit" of soju during your monthly bbq hangouts with your friends, so your tipsy self took some time to openly judge and even snort at the stupid looking stranger

that is until, a golden bow materialises into his hold

what in the hunger games lmao

.... you scratch your eyes, hoping to clear your vision

his right hand reaches into the air again, seemingly pulling out two golden arrows with their tips dipped in crimson out of nowhere

wtf did someone lace your soju

and then he nocks them, one above the other, and draws the string back

is he about to shoot someone??????

he releases the arrows in the direction of two people conversing with each other in a playground's swing set not too far away from you and-- holy sHIT HE'S SHOOTING TWO PEOPLE AT ONCE

you hear the wind rip as the arrows zips through the air before embedding deep into the unsuspecting targets' chests

it took point three seconds for you to realize what the suspicscious man did

and that's when you scream

very loudly

but wait a minute

......... there's nothing

there's no blood, no dead bodies dropping to the floor, and the arrows that struck their chests somehow vanished into thin air

in fact, the two people he shot looks happier now

that's weird

but you continue to scream anyway

the boy whips his head to see you; a little tipsy and screaming your head off, and when your eyes lock with one another, his eyes go impossibly wider

he swiftly dashes off into your direction after carelessly throwing his bow into the air and wait,,,, did the bow just dissappear??? it was right there--

a hand suddenly clamps over your mouth

"stop screaming."

.................

you proceed to scream even louder

the boy lets out an annoyed grunt, somehow dragging you into an alley with his hand still clamped over your mouth and the other gripping the back of your head tightly

"look i need you to calm down, okay?" he lets out a huff, nervous hands running through his red hair -- a detail you just noticed with the moonlight shining on him

you finally stop screaming and he immedieately sighs in relief, loosening his grip on you

you take a good look at him

he's beautiful

"thank you," the boy nonchalantly replies, too distracted with looking out the alley to make sure no one saw you struggling against a body of air into an alley. "just to be clear, i didn't kill them okay? they're perfectly fine"

but you're not even listening to him

"you can read my mind?!"

"yes i can but that's not the point," the redhead squints. "i need you to understand that i didn't kill them and that you're not supposed to be able to see me"

you swallow

this guy might be cute but,,,,, you definitely wouldn't risk it because he's weird weird

"umm okay, mr. i'm-not-a-murderer,, what else would you be doing with a bow and arrow besides killing someone??? running your cupid errands or something haha????"

he knocks his head to the side, taking quick steps to near you that has you pinned against the wall as his eyes rake over you in scrutiny

"who sent you?"

pffft LMAOOO ｡ﾟ(TヮT)

"what are you on???" you breathe, having to take in a large gulp of air after literally laughing your ass off because of how ridicilous he sounds

there's an offended tick to the boy's brow, his stare drilling at you

you wipe tears from your eyes, "you're saying you're the cupid? or eros? or uh,,, whatever his name is"

the boy rolls his eyes, placing his hands in the pockets of his pants as he moves to lean against the brick wall beside you. "yeah,, cupid or eros works. but i prefer wooyoung."

your jaw slackens. this guy can't be serious

"okay, wooyoung. how do i know you're not lying?"

the same golden bow you saw earlier materializes in front of you out of nowhere, its grip in a firm grasp within wooyoung's hand

huh,,,, seems pretty legit

mhm okay you're sold, you guess you can tick off meeting someone supernatural off your bucketlist!

wooyoung chuckles, he must've read your mind again, and he turns to look at you at his side, mouth still gaping in awe at his glowing bow

"glad you finally believe i'm real," he smugly grins, flinging his bow to the side where it magically vanishes in mid-air

"although, you're really not supposed to be able to see me. you're the first mortal to ever do so."

you see curiosity lighting up his eyes but you also see something else

relief

"you're the first mortal to ever do so."

he probably has uh godly friends up there but,, you can't imagine how lonely it must feel to walk on earth without anyone acknowledging you,,,, as if you don't exist

everyone should have someone around!!! D-:

"let's be friends!"

"what?" his eyes fall back to its usual indifferent gaze, this time, with a tinge of nervousness. "i don't even know your name, how are we supposed to be friends??"

"hush, i know you know my name from the beginning. you probably read it off my mind," (you're right), "now come on! you have to show me some more of your katniss everdeen side!!"

"katnip what??" he yelps in disbelief, figure remaining still despite the incessant tugs on his wrist by your attempt of pulling him out of the alley

"and i don't need friends!"

he was about to go off more about how people would think you're batshit crazy because they won't be able to see him and- oop his back is off the wall now, yeap he's moving out the alley with you successfully pulling him

"yes you do!" you turn to look at him and made a stop once you both are out of the alley, a grin makes it way on your face. "i can't believe it!!!! i'm cupid's first friend!!!"

a faint smile almost places itself on wooyoung's face because hey, being friends with you doesn't seem too bad

but he tramples it down with all his might, rolling his eyes and letting out a huff instead

"just follow me and keep your mouth shut."

guess he's stuck with you then

(he's a little bit happy about that. just a little.)

choi jongho

you knew you should've trusted your gut feeling on not going to the frat party

“but ynnnnnnnn,” one of your best friends, yuna, whines, “it’s been forever since you partied with us!!! just this one time please please !!!!!”

and you being the easily moved person you are reluctantly agreed after some more convincing

“don’t worry babe,” ryujin, another one of your best friends, reassures you while applying lip gloss in her vanity, “i’ll personally kick your ex’s ass if he tries anything on you.”

right, your ex

he’s the prime reason why you would not step foot in any more college parties because trust yourself when you say that he will be in every available party

but you know what

you’re kinda siCK of that !!!

so even though your ex is borderline crazy and threatens you to get back together even if you don’t want to

you’re gonna go to the party :-D

with your five besties protecting you

<333

“let’s go!!!” chaeryeong whoops with her head out the opened car window as yeji, the designated driver of the night, parks the car in front of the already blaring frat house

“now girls,” lia starts, “make sure your phones are always on okay?? and make sure at least one of us knows where you are—”

she’s interrupted by the door slamming open and oh yup there they go—

ryujin, chaeryeong, and yuna are already sprinting across the lawn to get to the house

you all exchange looks as lia lets out a sigh

it’s gonna be a long night

turns out, it’s gonna be an even longer night

specifically just for you

you were just in the kitchen trying to pour some vodka into your red solo cup when you lock eyes with him

your ex, stood in front of the opened fridge

woops what, vodka?? yeah i don’t need that because i’m getting outta here bye

“y/n, wait.”

you briskly walk to the living room slash dance floor with your eyes desperately trying to find your fiery friend who promised to kick the ass of the man currently following you as he tries to call after you

to no avail

you’re kIND of panicking now!!!!!

just then, a figurative lightbulb flickers above your head when your eyes land on a guy with dark brown hair with a cup of his own perched on a corner alone

you’re hoping this works

you practically sprint to him and he looks like his heart is about to pop off his chest at the sight of someone barrelling towards him at full speed

“i’m so sorry but i have a crazy ex who’s following me literally right now so can you please be my boyfriend for like 5 seconds?”

the words jumbled out of you in a haste— too quick for jongho to catch anything else besides ‘crazy ex’ and ‘be my boyfriend’ but he knows from your panicked eyes that you’re asking for help

and of course he will

jongho’s eyes scan around the living room, finally seeing the guy who he can tell is your ex by the determined steps he’s taking towards you along with his eyes set on you

ok yeah jongho agrees with you

because damn this guy does look like he’s crazy

he figures there’s nothing to lose

“yeah, sure.”

jongho expects you to probably just linger near him in hopes of your ex leaving or maybe he’d have to play the role of the protective “boyfriend” by landing a punch on your ex if he tries to pick on a fight

what he didn’t expect was your lips meeting his own

if jongho is an android, the wires in his head would've short circuit 

your arms move to wrap at the back of his neck and you slightly tip toe so you can reach him better

he almost faltered on the kiss because he finds that so cute 

only after you initiated the touch does he place his hands on your waist to pull you even closer as he surprisingly deepens the kiss into a sweet kiss

his soft lips slowly guide you into a slower tempo, smoothly taking charge by moving a hand to softly grasp your cheek while the other rubs comforting circles on your exposed waist 

YOU’RE TRYING SO HARD NOT TO BLUSH

“what the fuck– get off my girl man!”

you’re forcefully separated from the boy with a breathless gasp as your ex pins him against the wall

despite your ex shouting obscenities at him with a hand wrapped on the collar of his shirt, the brunette doesn’t look scared at all

in fact, he kinda looks bored

his eyes lazily rake over your ex and he indignantly smirks before letting out a deep chuckle that silences the boy in front of him

“how pathetic.”

his big shoulders effortlessly knocks your ex to the side as he shoots a glare at him

this time, he’s the one standing in front of your ex with his intimidatingly large figure towering over him

“if you ever touch her or even fucking try to look at her, i’ll make sure to let everyone in this house know to beat the shit out of you whenever we see you.”

that’s when realization seeps into your ex and his body immediately froze

“oh shit, jongho, i-i’m sorry man,” your ex stammers, silently cursing himself for blindly messing with one of the frat members in their own party, “i didn’t know that she’s yours.”

“she’s not a thing you can own,” jongho rolls his eyes, roughly pushing your ex off the wall and harshly slapping his hand on his back to force him towards the door’s direction, “now get out of here.”

as your ex scrambles out the door, you turn to face jongho with your head slightly muddled by the fact that 

a) you kissed a frat boy

b) he’s hot

c) oh and have you mentioned that he’s hot?

“you good?”

you scramble out of your thoughts to see him looking over you carefully, “yeah…. thank you for that.”

a gummy smile lights up his face and you’re kinda confused because this guy does not resemble the intimidation he showed earlier at all, “no problem.” 

ok go off duality king

“wanna get out of here?”

this is the first time you met a frat boy who’s not really interested in the party he’s in

but you like that :-D

you smile, “sounds good.”

[kpopscatterbrain]

Kdramas i've watched this year

Some of these are older dramas but i'm a procrastinator

Black Knight (2023): Loved this one! I have watched it probably 5 times now. Kim Woobin kicking ass is all i need!

Under the Queen's Umbrella (2022): I didn't watch this when it aired (no idea why). I was worried that the plot would be overrun by romance but thankfully i was wrong. Loved Kim Hye-Soo's performance (i cried a little).

Island seasons 1 & 2 (2022-2023): Honestly i only started this one for Kim Nam-Gil. I loved the cast, but the flow of the plot was a little off (don't know how, i can't put a finger on it). Was positively suprised by Cha Eun-Woo's acting, i think he needs more roles like this! Hot villain alert no.1! Sung Joon as a bad guy is either a blessing or a curse. Cgi could have been better.

Taxi Driver season 2 (2023): Loved the first season so of course i had to watch the second one. Love Lee Je-Hoon. Love the main characters. Love the plot and the message of this drama. A masterpiece. Waiting for season 3.

Weak Hero Class 1 (2022): Only heard of this drama wayyy after it aired (thanks tiktok) and god does it deserve every award there is! I was a bit hesitant because Park Ji-Hoon was the main lead, but boy was i wrong because his talent got me speechless (weren't we all). I cried, i cheered, i shadowboxed, i cried a little more and in the end i called my therapist. Thankfully season 2 is coming.

Bloodhounds (2023): Woo Do-whan and Lee Sang-Yi in the same drama beating people up? Yes please! The plot wasn't mindblowing, but sometimes just simple ass kicking is enough. Bromance was bromancing. Park Sung-Woong with another great villain character.

Revenant (2023): After dropping Mr.Sunshine i wanted to see Kim Tae-ri in other dramas, so when this aired i gave it a go. Her range is phenomenal! I have only seen couple spookier dramas, so i made a mistake and watched this at night (slept with the lights on). The eerie vibes and plot twists were well made. Hong Kyung had great chemistry with Kim Tae-ri and his cop role was refreshing to see after his performance in Weak Hero Class (if you know you know).

Flower of Evil (2020): Okay, this is one of the dramas i procrastinated hard on. It's been sitting on my "have to watch" list since it aired and i'm the only one to blame (i hype up a drama in my mind, then don't want to watch it because now i'm afraid it doesn't go the way i think it does and then i get disappointed blaablaablaa). This year i finally got over myself and why. didn't. i. watch. it. sooner!!!! It is all i ever wanted in a kdrama. 1. serial killers 2. a psychopath (but is he really?) w/ an effed up childhood 3. mindgames 4. marriage problems (but has a lot of soft & cute scenes) 5. Lee Joon-Gi. Also as a plus (hot villain alert no.2) the bad guy is kindaa (i'm sane i swear). I would be lying if i didn't say that i found the wife slightly annoying (might be me, but she went too much back & forth and sometimes i had to take a breather while watching), but all in all this drama will be hard to top and i fell in love with Lee Joon-Gi.

Moving (2023): Honestly one of the best dramas of the year. I don't usually really go for plots that have a lot of romance in them (if you haven't noticed), but i found this one to be really well balanced and the romance scenes weren't "cringy". Although Bong-Seok and Hui-Soo were great and had great chemistry, i looooved the background stories of the parents. Park Hee-Soon also pops up as kind of a non-villain villain. I hope there is a season 2.

Song of the Bandits (2023): Kim Nam-Gil again. 1920s Korea and gunslingers... what more could i need? After Mr. Sunshine left me with a disappointment (this might be an unpopular opinion) i craved for a drama set around the same time period, but with a little less romance (i know, i am defective). I think dramas should explore this time period more, but i understand it might still be a touchy subject. The skills of the cast were obviously great, Kim Nam-Gil killed his role like always, but Lee Ho-Jung as Eon-Nyeon shined with her performance (i am now a new fan). Hot villain alert no.3! I have seen Lee Hyun-Wook in Remarriage & Desires and seeing him as a villain made me feel things. If there isn't a second season i will cry.

The Killing Vote (2023): A "serial killer" in a dog mask making the public vote on punishing criminals and everyone suspects each other? Cyber crime? Chemistry between two cops? Major hot villain (no.4)? Sign me up. I love when crime dramas make you question your people reading skills (i have the tism so i really got none) and have all kinds of theories flying around. I liked that even Kim Mu-Chan and Joo Hyun had obvious chemistry between them it didn't overshadow the main point of the plot. I liked Seo Young-Joo's delivery and i hope he gets more bigger roles. Kim Kwon.... why does the psychopath have to be hot? He also needs more bigger roles. !spoiler! Also Park Sung-Woong killing (heh) yet another morally grey character.

The Worst of Evil (2023): Okay, first of all i have to say... the wife ruined everything (some agree and some don't). We get another bromance duo of the year with Wi Ha-Joon and Ji Chang-Wook. Loved the crime organization infiltration plot, heavily despised the romance plot (sorry Bibi baby). I was constantly on the edge of my seat and the characters started to get so morally grey that in the end everyone needs group therapy. Action scenes were chefs kiss. A honorable mention goes for Lee Shin-Ki as Seo Jong-Ryul (or Chief Seo, knife guy, the man has many names) and Bibi for her performance as Lee Hae-Ryeon.

Evilive (2023): Heavily underrated. Kim Young-Kwang doing what he does best, playing a psychopath. This combined with a bromance plot with the one and only bromance master Shin Ha-Kyun? I'm sold. The dramas literal title "villain story" really sums up the plot. Sometimes you are not sure who to cheer for. Sometimes you are not really sure about your own sanity. But to be fair, so aren't the main characters.

Vigilante (2023): Love it. Currently re-watching it. Needs more attention. Needs more episodes. I'm in love with Nam Joo-Hyuk. The best crime drama of the year, the title is all i needed to hear. Beating up criminals in well made action scenes is my favorite genre. No romance. One sided bromance? Morally grey characters (am i repeating myself now?). Yoon Ji-Tae as a beefy cop and Lee Joon-Hyuk as a slightly insane admirer? If we don't get a season 2 i will start a riot.

[istarveforplatonicptnstuff]

Commiting tax evasion with Bai yi as your ceo...

Girl... I don't even know how you got here but... You were very likely HIGHKEY scammed by miss gurl... 🦗🦗🦗 Yeah... Why did you apply in a shady company anyways...? But you probably was LOOKING 👀 for a job that can PAY the bills 💵💵💵 but spoilers, you were UNDERPAID, OVERWORKED, and most esp. Not even paid anyways... 🙄🙄🙄 So forget what I said about being paid little because girl you are not paid even once while you were working with this stink... 😑

You decided to apply for a job position as her assistant... In Syndicate. Pooks... This should've been your first red flag, but NOPE! You were DESPERATE. For what though? 🤨 And the flyer wasn't... That great like sis... Again, another red flag... Couldn't you just... 🏃‍♀️💨 away from the moment you saw the flyer? (/j I'm holding you in 😰🔫 point so, you didn't have a choice anyway 💅) But who even reads nowadays as long as, we get PAID 🤑🤑🤑 right? So, fast forward to you clutching your pearls and barely making it out alive to meet with the interviewer... Maam. Major red flag, the building looked run-down.

Pookie... 🤧 You didn't almost get stabbed, kidnapped, mugged, and possibly even get robbed for your kidney for this... 😭😭😭 Finally, your employer shows up in this DRIP 💧, what you doing???

Remember when I said that you have the option to say no? I didn't say anything 😇 The thing is, you can't. You just CANT. Look me in the eye and tell me that this girl wouldn't do SHIT to you rn... Be serious, because I don't even think you're gonna walk out of the interview scot free sis... Nah uh, not at all... Sis looks like she is about to beat the SHIT out of you, and will most likely sell your organs after that... 🥺🥺🥺 Luckily, she spoke up and had that mom vibe that you almost instantaneously calm down...

After hyperventilating and K.K giving you odd looks as well... Finally you were in the "company" Yay? 🧍‍♀️ You stood there staring at the dusty ass couch and a man who looked VERY sleep-deprived. You learned that Che was their name. But why is he dressed up like he about to go for a hike...? Sighs, i don't think you'll ever get the fashion of Syndicate... You and the two held a mini staring contest like you two were Communicating, that K.K was confused at the random moment she had to snap ya'll out of it and discuss the job details... The job being, you doing all the paperwork... For 50 discoins per hour. Stink, you're screwed 😃

Obviously, you were about to decline... Until finally, the CEO showed up. Sighs. You ask to yourself, was this really worth the trip and the STRUGGLE you went through? Stink cannot even bribe you with her face card because you still had to pay the billssssss 😞

Bai yi shows up, you hear the sound of sirens and cops speaking through the megaphone. 🤡 You really thought this was going to be the las time you'll be seeing daylight, like sis you were going to JAIL. ⛓⛓⛓ For existing. The three of them noticed and explains casually that this is their hideout, and no one's breached here before. You raised a brow at the statement, skeptical at how relaxed they were acting 🤨🤨🤨 Like who you fooling??? Though you can't speak for yourself when, you waltzed into Syndicate knowing DAMN well that this place was bad news... So you kept it to yourself 🥰

Of course, Bai yi bribes you to stay and become Whitestone Industries assistant with a sob story that can make you cry... Except you weren't gullible enough and walked out of the door, preferring to get arrested instead, lmao 🤭🤭🤭 Sis chased you down the stairs like it was a kdrama scene, grabbing your arm and acting like this was the last time ya'll seeing each other 💀 girl, you can never escape her because she's all over and like, she's a criminal, what else? 🤓 You ended up accepting in the end, because you wasted your time for this... Making K.K sigh in relief since she finally isn't alone with two idiots... Unless you add up to the equation then... 😶

Timeskip to a month, you and sis was WORKING. Helping them out with ✨Graphic design is my passion✨ motto since you wanted to get rid off the... Terrible... Designs that they come up with when they release an ad, flyer, or promotion post. You kinda got used to the usual, illegal work they do because why not? 😎 You already gave up in paying the bills, so why not commit tax evasion as well, right? You asked Bai yi tips on how to tax evade 🏃‍♀️ K.K was beyond mortified at the sudden camaraderie that came after the event, making you and Bai yi besties 🤝 Friendship ended with the government 💔 Tax evasion is my pookie now 🥰

You are being hunt down by the police as well, causing you to move to Syndicate, living with K.K, Che, and Bai yi currently. Life was good, until Bai yi kept bringing more problems than solutions everyday, causing you to become one of the MOTHER 👩‍🦰 alongside with K.K, making sure the other two stay out of trouble because they're a magnet for chaos, apparently. K.K's words, not mine 🤷‍♀️ More on that when I think of part two! An: My exam in a major subject FLOPPED. 👎📉 /j, I'm overthinking so I cope with writing unserious shit to think less of it, and hopefully make the redemption in finalsssss HISSSS 🐍 RAH❗❗❗ 🦅 But anyways, to more UNSERIOUS, and UNHINGED shit to come!!! But also some serious ptn stuff (Like the nursing intern one)

[writingonesdreams]

Itaewon class - sortighatchats

This kdrama is just too good not to sort. See @sortinghatchats and @wisteria-lodge for explanation of the sorting system. Beware of spoilers.

Itaweon class is a revenge story at its core about an underdog who does what feels right, steps up for his morals—and loses everything as a consequence. But it's also very heart-warming, idealistic, with power of friendship and lots of comfort scenes.

Seroy Pak is such a shining little lion. The whole story is basically built around him being so stubborn about his morals that he defies the big bad - the chairman of the ruling food company, his father's boss, the guy everyone bows down to. Instead of doing the smart thing, the survival thing, Seroy does the feel right thing—he fights back. At every. Damn. Step. Of. The. Way.

Many many characters note how stupid that is. How much his life would have been easier if he just bowed down, knelt, begged, apologised. Played by the rules. But Seroy never does, his morals and convictions always unscathed, even if the rest of his life gets freaking wrecked for it.

Seroy beats up the school bully even the teachers are afraid of, gets himself kicked out of high school, loses his father his job. And his dad says: I'm proud of you. That's a burned and broken lion right there. "I just want you to hold your head high and live confidently how I never managed." Geez, thanks for the advice.

The first two episodes are this inspiring backstory of this socially clumsy but very firmly set lion, who loses everything including his dad and dream job and nerves, gets imprisoned....by all means should be broken down. Except he comes out 2 years later with a 15 year plan how to get revenge on the impossibly powerful guy who did it to him. Cause he shouldn't be played with. Because he, Seroy, won't bow down to this monster, he should bow to him.

The way he can calmly and confidently go spew such unrealistic idealism makes people think he is mad...or scared or insanely inspired and loyal. Seroy's roaring lion gets people around him, loyal people who breathe for his dream, who do everything in his footsteps. His employees love and admire him. His arch enemy doesn't have a reason to fear him, yet can't stop getting pissed off by his mere existence.

That's the power Seroy has.

At the same time his method is a subtle, kind hard work. That's Seroy in a nutshell. When he currently isn't saving someone from injustice and refusing to bow down, he is...at work. Slow and steady. It's all in the people and trust. He can make it, be it 5, 10 or 15 years. His goals will be fulfilled and he will get enough money, people, right the wrongs. He will get his way through steady effort and honest work. Cheating never comes into question. Protection or using contacts...don't either. Seroy will suffer to abide the law just to not get any unfair cheats from anyone. He will rather take responsibility than the easy way out.

This is both, heartwarming and awe-inspiring and incredibly frustrating to watch. Especially if you are his slightly sociopathic double snake manager Ji-so. This girl is a genius and as egotistical and self-seving as it gets. She talks with people cause they are rich or have something she wants. But she is also incredibly bored by the inevitable predictability of everyone around her...except Seroy. Seroy, whose crazy morals and kindness principles don't make sense. Seroy, who is walking around all proud lion when he has nothing, no advantages, no talent, no capable employees or strategies.

Seroy doesn't fight for himself, he has high goals, revenge plans in the making, helps people around and works all honestly. It doesn't make sense to young Ji-so and she gets completely obsessed. Then fascinated. And then falls head over heels in love with him.

From that point on, everything and everyone in Ji-so's life turns around her boss Seroy. He is the one she works for, protects, makes rich and famous. He is everything. Even when his logic and principles clash with practicality, even when Ji-so with her ruthless playful sneaky tactics would get his goal faster, she listens to him. She completely readjust her moral compass and methods so they align with his. She is his snake through and through.

Funnily enough, O-Soo, Seroy's childhood friend and long term love interest is a snake too. She is only in it for herself. As an orphan, she learned to look out for her survival with all means necessary. If surviving means being quiet and submissive, so be it. If surviving and prospering means working for the guy who killed her father-figure and the dad of her best friend...so be it. There are many heart-breaking moments between her and Seroy, when she apologises to him that she has to do this. That she has to choose herself above him and everyone else's good, cause that's just how it is. She can't do it any other way. And she feels guilty for it because Seroy is her person. And in a very very round about logic, she is doing it for him, for her own secret 20 year old plan of revenge. But by doing the best for him she effectively kicks herself from her own group. She betrays him, spies on him, warns him about it, but he always reassures her it's fine, those are your morals, your convictions, I can understand this.

But she is doing it for him and for the group, except she can't be with them while she does it and ends up alone. That's why she spends the show absolutely miserable, hoping for attention and love she saboteges to pay back the debt nobody asked her to pay to the one person who had treated her right.

The biggest foil to Seroy's efforts and actions is his main enemy. The impossible to defeat the Chairman who ruins Seroy's life, because the little lion refuses to bow down. In a way this makes the chairman a lion as well. His goal, purpose and feel is the company. And his pride and conviction that he is the strongest and therefore should always be winning.

In the flashbacks it seems like he did it for his family, like he build the empire for them and cares about them, but in the end the Chairman cares about the image and about his pride and ego, not about the actual people he is protecting.

Even if Seroy and the Chairman show many parallels, from starting their companies with little to big goals and inspiring roaring lion cores, they differ mainly in the methods. Chairman is a sneaky underhanded snake where Seroy is a kind hard worker. Seroy can never forgive the intimidation, contacts, masks and everything the Chairman is willing to do to get his wins and wants. Where the Chairman corrupts, lies and blackmails, whatever works best for the situation, does Seroy choose to be honest, slow, do things through his own hands.

Yet Seroy gets fuled and inspired by the Chairman despite and maybe because of the hatedred. He only and finally loses his pride, when he realizes how much he cares about Ji-so (her showing her love through helping Seroy achieve his goals is the best way to get to a lion primary) that he is willing to kneel for her. That the Chairman would go as low as to threaten her life is the last drop for him. Seroy loses all his respect for him for this and never turns back. Even when he finally gets the Chairman on his knees in turn does he care half as much as he thought.

I'm not all that sure about the rest of the side-characters. The transgender cook is mainly a badger secondary through her hard work ways and fellow younger ex-gangster's loyalty and inspiration through Seroy makes me guess me think snake primary. Maybe they are all snake primaries really, cause they make big stands for each other, driven by dreams, ambitions, self-gain in a very natural, unapologetic way.

Very curious case is Kun-so, who stars out so shy and beat down. Everyone kept convicing him that as illegitimate second son of the Chairman, he had no right to want anything for himself that he just seemed like such a kind, shy, polite boy. When he fell in love with Jin-So and realized he was losing her to Seroy who he admired, he quit and tried to take over the Chairman's company by being his son and turning to his image.

It didn't work out, and not because it didn't feel right. That is not a factor for him. It just didn't prove effective. Seroy wins the fight against his father, so he is obviously the one in the right. Kun-so is lost in how much he wanted, in the unstoppable greed of desiring things for himself. Did he explode as a snake? Somehow he still stays sympathetic and likeable through all his moral switches and betrayals.

Maybe it's because of his badger secondary. The kid just needs to set a goal and an idol and then he succeed through doing the hard work. Doing his best to do what's asked of him, whatever that may be. You want me caring? Okay. You want me heartless? Okay too. Huh. The switching around of morals and personalities depending on what he decides now makes me think he might be a Bird primary. He is the one who doesn't know what he wants and feels lost, except knowing he won't be like his father. He is the one who sets his goal on taking over the company once Jin-so says that will win her over. And he simply accepts Seroy's reasons and explanations for everything, simply adapting them into his code. When Seroy says he is a kid and can forgive himself, then it must be true and Kun-so accepts it as part of his new truth.

O-Soo's methods seem super sneaky. She spies and and she stabs in the back...but she doesn't enjoy it and she isn't sneaky about it. She doesn't hide it, she even apologies and warns before doing it again. Her whole 15 years old plan worked even better than Seroy's and she did it with less people, from the inside, despite how incredibly deplorable it made her feel. Doesn't that make her a good candidate for Bird secondary? She made her plan and went with it. Preparations through all her positions, through all the years, from the inside the lion's den. Meticulous and detailed, to bring down the Chairman. Great bird. Snake Bird also fits her villainous vibes until the last episode.

Seroy - Lion / Badger

O-Soo - Snake / Bird

Jin So - Snake / Snake

Chairman - exploded Lion / Snake

Kun-so - Bird / Badger

[muninnhuginn]

Hi Mun!!! I wanted to ask if you have any other kdramas or cdramas you would want to recommend? :0 I still need to catch up with Stranger/Secret Forest, but I’m curious if there are any others I should check out too!

That I do.

Okay so I'm trying to decide how much to factor in enjoyment vs quality here because I have a few shows I really enjoyed but are, um, well, you have to let some stuff pass.

I will mention that my tastes in terms of romancey stuff tends to lean towards non-existent or subtle and so that's largely reflected in my recs. The only exception to this on the list is Flower of Evil. (I didn't intend it but this list doesn't actually have any main BLs/GLs either. A lot of people ship various combos of the main three in MLC and WCL though.)

Shows below cut in no particular order:

Flower of Evil

(modern kdrama)

I wasn't sure how to start with this one so I'll just nab the description from Wikipedia as it's actually fairly accurate here:

Baek Hee-sung is a man who hides his identity and past from his wife Cha Ji-won, a detective. On the surface, they appear to be the perfect family: A loving couple with a beautiful six-year-old daughter who adores her parents. Cha Ji-won and her colleagues begin investigating a series of unexplained murders and she is confronted with the reality that her seemingly perfect husband may be hiding something from her.

I don't want to spoil much about this, but it's very cat-and-mousey. It's evil with the cliffhangers. At one point, it briefly becomes a buddy comedy between a guy and another guy he kept in his basement. And there is one scene where people just sit in a car crying for two minutes. So, like, it has the range? I think of it as a guilty pleasure kinda show personally, but it's probably the closest to Beyond Evil of the shows on this list.

Mysterious Lotus Casebook

(historical cdrama)

Full disclosure: I have only recently finished this and it has somewhat taken over my brain so I can't claim to be in any way unbiased here. Li Lianhua is a lying liar who lies who may or may not be the fallen hero Li Xiangyi (he is). He wants to get by pretending to be a doctor and minding his own business, but unfortunately, the plot is out to get him. And so he, along with Fang Duobing, end up investigating various crimes as Li Lianhua tries to find the body of his former senior to lay him to rest before his own body gives out on him.

My favourite thing about this show is a) Li Lianhua, and b) the dynamic between the main trio. The levels of trolling and identity porn at any one time are through the roof. It's a comedy until it isn't.

Reset

(modern cdrama)

This is the incredibly rare type of show known as a decent *modern* cdrama. It's a timeloop show and is fairly short at 15 episodes. It's about two strangers who are trapped on a bus that keeps exploding and their attempts to uncover why and how it keeps happening. Being a modern cdrama, some of the police stuff can be fairly... heavy-handed, but I think the writers do what they can despite that, and it does use the different bus passengers to explore different societal issues, which is neat.

Overall, it's a bit of a mystery show, a bit of a character drama, and a teensy bit of romance which is for the most part nicely underplayed.

White Cat Legend

(historical cdrama)

This is waaaaaay more down the enjoyment end than quality but I'm having such a good time here. This is originally based off a manhua (I've only read pieces of it myself) but mainly just takes the characters and some story beats and does its own thing. I watched the donghua first and tonally that was an interesting experience in how it raced between funny cat shenanigans and reckoning with the nature of war crimes (though the donghua stuck much closer to the og source overall). But the live action so far is staying firmly silly (I'm midway through so it will shift at some point, I'm sure, just can't see the tonal whiplash being as bad as in the donghua).

Anyway! To explain what the show actually *is*, it follows a guy who has been cursed to become a cat (in the manhua/donghua this means he's like a walking furry but the live action has it more of a werecat/shapeshifter deal which is good because I could not handle that cg 24/7) and his attempts at running investigations as part of the local court. This is not helped by being the only competent guy in the entire place. Still, at least his underlings are *incredibly* entertaining in their failures. So, most of the show is investigating crimes against a backdrop of Li Bing (catto dude) trying to uncover the origins of the curse and why the old court and his father died. There's also a purple dude with whom he has History and an italian vampire. And vice president shangguan, who is one of those rare female characters you get in historical cdramas where the show is actually normal about her existence *without* just entirely brushing over the implications of her being in her position as a woman.

Move to Heaven

(modern kdrama)

This is a genuine rec where I'm not going to say you have to let quality pass or whatever because it's objectively good and doesn't have a high entry barrier. It may be good to watch an episode at a time depending on your mood though rather than trying to marathon it or anything.

This show basically follows the 'move to heaven' team, who are summoned to clear out the belongings of the deceased. Each deceased person has a story associated with them and as part of tidying the belongings away, there's an element of investigating to find out what their story was. It can be a tearjerker at times, but it can also be incredibly sweet. Also, it has a canon autistic character where it actually strikes a really good balance in terms of not infantilising him whilst still having it make sense why he wants help with certain things.

Nirvana in Fire

(historical cdrama)

This is my beloved. My favourite cdrama of all time. But I suspect it may not fit for you if Secret Forest doesn't. Still, I'll mention it and say to look up the diagrams to keep track of all the characters in the early episodes (...yeah, it's that type of show).

Anyway, this show is about a terminally ill man who takes on a secret identity or two as he plots to take revenge/bring justice (depending on who you ask) for the crimes of the past. This is part of the 'lying liar who lies' subgenre. It's much more serious and complicated overall than Mysterious Lotus Casebook despite the superficial similarities, but it does have its lighthearted moments.

Misc. shows that didn't make the list

I'll mention Signal (kdrama) and Kairos (kdrama) because they both have neat time travel mechanics, but with huge stipulations here. Signal is the objectively better one of these two and the male mc in Kairos is unbearable at times but at the same time Kairos has enough good points to keep me watching. The friend trio of female mc (they're just besties frfr) and the villain romance subplot especially. Signal had potential to be amazing, but for me, some of the time travel mechanics fell through and it was almost BBC Sherlockian at times with some of the 'profiling' deductions.

Signal's premise is that there's a walkie talkie that links the past and the present between a current day consultant profiler (with a distrust of the police despite now working for them) and a past police officer who is dead in the present day. It follows various cases between the past and the present that are interlocking with each other, with the overarching mysteries being present day profiler's backstory and past cop's death. I feel like this started out decently, went hit-and-miss, had a few episodes where it was absolutely amazing, and then lost steam somewhat, though the ending hit the main points.

Kairos' premise centres around a mobile phone. When a phone is disconnected, the number ends up being assigned to someone else. So, the two main characters, living a month apart in time, have the same number and thus can communicate with each other. The male mc in the future has recently found out that his wife and daughter have both died and the female mc's mother has gone missing. So they've both got a scenario they need the other person to help them with and as they change things, more new problems keep cropping up. It's a show where the premise is super interesting, but I personally found it a very frustrating watch, not least because of characters making decisions that were in-character, but incredibly stupid and *not* in the entertaining way.

Also, as I didn't include any BLs/GLs, I'll mention that I cannot in good conscience recommend Guardian (cdrama), but it's such fun trash and it has Shen Wei. It's a bit like shows like Torchwood and Buffy in that it's ostensibly modern era but there's magic (sorry, 'aliens') and a team that's meant to be keeping on top of it all led by Zhao Yunlan. He meets Shen Wei and then proceeds to *keep meeting him* at various crime scenes because Shen Wei sucks at this whole low-key deal.

On a similar note, Couple of Mirrors (cdrama) is a republican era GL. The two leads are well-written, but it's basically like two different shows mushed together (a soap and an assassin/cat-and-mouse chase). It has Yan Wei though! It's about a popular writer meeting a photographer (who is also an assassin) and them both discovering that the writer's husband really and truly sucks.

[sandiegokpop]

Welp I just finished The Worst of Evil & I gotta say, I'm disappointed.

First of all, we've seen way worse when it comes to crime dramas/movies so I feel like the title is misleading. Yeah ppl got hurt/murdered but there were so many situations where ppl should've been murdered, would've been murdered if it were real life, but they were allowed to walk away freely w/a beating & a "don't show your face again". Like if you're gonna take out a gang you gotta take out a gang. You can't purposely let ppl that you betrayed & whose friends & bosses you've killed just run away. Especially after they try to get revenge on you by teaming up with/turning your allies against you multiple times. Messy. Some situations where just plain ridiculous.

Second, the ending...what the hell when the hell-? Since when did Junmo form any type of bond w/Gi Cheol?? Like I understand it from Gi Cheol's pov, Junmo saved him so many times & put his life on the line. But the whole time Junmo was only focused on doing what needed to be done to end the investigation quickly. He manipulated multiple situations to accomplish this, even manipulated Gi Cheol. Not once did I see affection, empathy, or regret from J towards him. Then all of a sudden at the very end we get this flashback of them walkin about town looking at each other like they're best buds...what?? As if J truly enjoyed his time w/him being a criminal & wasn't immensely stressed & traumatized the whole time. Maybe it's just me but that was very forced & last minute. It was the wrong drama for that. (There were a couple stand out scenes that were filmed differently from the rest of the scenes & it felt like there were 2 different directors or as if this was someones directorial debut & they wanted to throw in all the cinematic tricks they knew to build their portfolio or something. Those moments were cool but they didn't match the rest of the show, it was very disjointed.)

Third, I understand the message they were delivering. Going undercover & forcing someone to live in that type of situation will change them. Junmo was mentally changed forever, but I don't like that it affected his marriage. Suddenly he doesn't love his wife anymore? After everything they put me thru they couldn't give me that?? I'm fine w/out romance but don't include it then screw me over in the end. That just really made me dislike the whole drama. Him leaving his wedding ring at Gi Cheol's grave just pissed me off lol. It was refreshing for a kdrama to have the female 'love interest' go that far & immerse herself into that role just to protect her husband. I could feel how much she loved him, I mean she voluntarily emotionally manipulated her 1st love to protect Junmo. Their relationship ended abruptly before it could even begin in a sad way but instead of her feeling sorry for him or conflicted over how his life turned out she really lured him in to betray him for her husband. For them to turn around & make Junmo leave her behind like that...

Anyway, there was way less bromance than ppl were making it seem🙄

With a title like that I expected to be on the edge of my seat every moment, every ep, to be shocked by plot twists or unexpected revelations or just completely disturbed by violence. That never happened. It was just mildly interesting. I understood why Junmo would want to let him go at the end since they didn't really need him as the other 3 ended up making the drug deal, & he wasn't a heinous person. The standoff in the living room was a bit thrilling but it ended the way it ended... Oh & don't get me started on that damn cop! Why couldn't they have him demoted & stationed at a remote police station until the investigation was over? Sorry to say I felt nothing when he died.

[motheryves]

rating the new rv album: chill kill

chill kill: 8/10. i like it. the chorus is good. just can't get over the pop smoke type beat in the back.

knock knock (who's there?): 9/10. "knock knock who's there?" it's me. served as usual.

underwater: 10/10. hips grinding, ass is shaking currently as I'm typing this. this is most def for the r&b girlies. the landlord was at the door most def. bye bye's crown was tilted.

will i ever see you again: 5/10. first off, the beginning sounds like a tech commercial. This instrumental sounds like a damn Samsung ringtone. Giving very much 2016 then and now video. Might have to grown into it. Wendy eating up the notes per usual.

nightmare: 10/10. oh this beat eating. shoulder moving and shit. oh bitch. im floating. I'm levitating and airbending in this bitch. this shit is heavenly. this song name do not fit the vibe. the rap ate. the high note ate. this chorus... bitch im GONE

iced coffee: 9/10. oh so i see red velvet chose levitation for this concept because im just fucking floating. i feel like a fucking princess listening to this shit. im a fucking ballroom rn in a big ass poofy ass dress fucking spinning. this is a royal ass song. "got me like iced coffee" no bitch, got me like belle.

one kiss: 10/10. they said we shaking ass this album cause im throwing it in a circle rn. OH THIS RAP??? THIS BEAT THE CLAPPING. I AM SHAKING MY FUCKINF ASS. CURRENTLY BUCKING. and y'all know how rv loves them soft ass bridges. wendy need a big ass robitussin bc she just hitting notes this whole album.

bulldozer: 8/10. they asking what can you break but they need to be asking what they can they serve bc this album... i actually love this chorus. the raps are amazing as usual. idk why but this song seemed too short (joyuri curse)

wings: 10/10. the beginning is so beautiful omg. i can def see y'all youtube vloggers using this. this is so sweet sounding. like this makes me feel like i'm walking down the street with my partner or something. this song makes me appreciate life. once again, Wendy eating up these notes. SHE SAID "SPREAD YOUR WINGSS" TAKE US TO CHRUCH MISS WENDYYY.

scenery: 10/10. im yearning over someone i never met. im thinking about the good times with this person. how did they do me so well. i feel like im in a loving relationship with this song. i can see this playing during a rainy love confession scene in a kdrama. this song is so soft and i love it. it smells like fabric softener, coffee, and a rainy day.

favs: iced coffee, nightmare, and underwater.

fave song: underwater.

in conclusion: a bunch of booty shaking songs in mix with some songs that got you floating in this bitch. the songs are versatile. red velvet b-sides never fail to eat. someone give wendy some lemon water and robitussin bc she was hitting notes this whole album. i'll give it a 9/10.

[justanothermortalsworld]

Hello did we all watch the same drama?!?!

So heirarchy- I wouldn't say it's the best kdrama I have ever watched it's not obviously however I saw some people saying that the acting of main characters was trash and I DISAGREE!

The acting was good! It was the script that was the problem. They marketed it as a revenge/ crime thriller and it turned out to be a high school romance and about relationships more than revenge however the acting was not bad.

For example: Ri an someone here said oh he had the same expression the whole time bruh come on! He did not. The scene where he finds out about the miscarriage and keep crying that was a good scene. Him beating the shit out of jae-I's brother. His scene with his mum where he gets slapped!

Some (FOCUS ON SOME) people have been saying trash about the actors and the acting, but that is just not true if you have watched the whole drama. You'll know the acting IS GOOD. I can't with people trashing on actors just because you didn't like the drama girl, please 🙄

Most of Ri an scenes where he shows emotion or infact most of jaei scenes where she shows emotions are with each other because they love each other and are comfortable together [they did clarify it that they were raised in way where they had to show no emotion in front of people that can be used against them]

But yeah the plot had holes and loose ends and some things did not make sense but I would still stay the acting was good!

You can say the drama was average/or not what you wanted, but the acting and the cast overall were really good! Especially the 5 main characters.

Hoping for a 2nd season

[unnursvanablog]

While I may not be watching two dramas with 2pm actors in it anymore (because I dropped Heartbeat around ep 7) I am however going to be watching two dramas with a snsd member in it now because I just picked up Not Others with Sooyoung.

My 2nd gen heart is still beating quite strongly, because not only is there is snsd member in Not Others but also a Girl's Day member (this is the 2nd drama that I have seen Sojin in this year when she plays the best friend character) and I am also watching Numbers with two members of Infinite.

There is often a very slow buildup to the story, as we go trough all of these setups and character introductions, during the first two episodes of a kdrama but Not Others waste very little time on that. It pretty much manages to establish the tone and the relationship dynamic between the daughter and mother in the opening scene.

You get very quickly this sense of this young mom who had to grow up rather quickly and didn't really get to have the fun she might have wanted in her 20s and the child that is ultimatly going to have to parents her parent and keep her in check.

And all throughout the first episode this becomes all the more clear. There is such a good contrast between the two of them and they riff of each other so well that you can't help but be engaged.

The humour is a lot roncier than I thought it would be, but also the sort of slapsticky as I would expect from a comedy kdrama. Like, I was not expecting to witness, with Sooyoungs character, the mom masturbating in the living room - but I also applaud that the drama went there and showed that yes, older women who are moms also have a working labido and stuff.

And it sort of discussed it, as well as other topics about being a woman, in a very nonscalont and non-shameful way imho.

The drama never feels to over the top though, despite the somewhat slapstick comedy. It seems to have a very human story, sort of slice-of-life feel to it at it's core and it feels refreshing to me out of all the other kdramas in my watching lineup. It also feels unserious without being obnoxiously so and just frivilous and dumb (aka Heartbeat). There seems to be a purpose to the silliness and it's also grounded enough in an human story so it doesn't feel so over the top it just becomes ridiculous (aka King the Land)

And the small hint of romance, even if it's fairly commonplace and nothing new (he thinks she is annoying and is her boss) it didn't really make me groan because it felt too common or overused for some reason. Maybe it's because I do enjoy a proper enemies to lovers. Now I just need to mom to have her own romance.

I also need this cop stuff to not get too heavy and please, please please can we not have a murder mystery / rom-com hybrid.

[imsailorpluto]

Bloodhounds (2023); obsession (ep 1 & 2 spoilers, kinda)

This series is definitely making me ask "What the hell did I just watch?" in the most bizarre way ever. It also made me feel a lot of things, which is most probably due to the entire cast being a bunch of handsome men.

And while it's mostly candy for the eyes, the acting is really good. The first episode is all about boxer Gunwoo, and how he got involved with the loan business, together with his fellow marine buddy Hong Woojin.

I can't deny I'm enjoying it even more than I should. But who wouldn't? That first scene was more than enough to glue my eyes to the screen, even though I have been excited about this drama ever since some gorgeous promo stills started circling around tumblr. And then the gif game kicked in, and pretty boy Woo Dohwan in the role of the boxer Kim Gunwoo flooded my entire dash, just like that.

Soon enough it was all about these two guys training hard. And it's still going. Not that I'm complaining. I'm loving their bromance.

Depictions of violence are on another level though. Honestly, I hate them for being so graphic and realistic. There is absolutely nothing good I can say about those since it's not my thing and never will be. Obviously it made me awfully uncomfortable, despite knowing it's just acting and sfx make up. I couldn't manage watching the end of 1st episode without covering my eyes and waiting for it to be over. Gunwoo taking the beatings like a beautiful piece of schnitzel was too much for my taste. Those metal fists punching him all over, the headbutts, and the face carving in the end left me in shock.

Even though I love scars and doing things out of spite, Gunwoo spitting into the handsome loan shark's face wasn't worth it. Let me just watch a series without having to look away...

The first episode wasn't enough to stop me to continue watching Bloodhounds and the only explanation is - they're all so pretty. And what comes after the horrors of 1st ep's ending is such a treat. Gunwoo is injured and standing tall and determined to pay off the debt, setting the record straight. And then comes crying at his doorstep while holding a bag of money, which was more than enough to buy his way into my heart. Kdrama villains are great, but beautifully broken good ones are even better, and Gunwoo is a really really good guy, injured on all levels possible. If that doesn't give you internal screams, I don't know what will... That was enough of a dopamine rush for me.

Watching first two eps of Bloodhounds made me realise the series gives us a taste of being in the middle of a fighting match. It's sort of a mental training based on punishment and reward system - for every enjoyable scene, comes an awful one which causes disgust, both in the mind and stomach.

Drinking scene in ep 2. Anyone?

Damn... Seriously though, who the hell drinks black label like an apple juice? They went straight for the jugular, triggering all kinds of psychophysical memories in most of us who got drunk on whisky at least once in a lifetime.

Ending of the 2nd episode is yet another traumatising anxiety inducing cliffhanger. I'm starting to wonder if it's going to be like this at the end of every episode; blood, violence, people getting beaten up like a sack of potatoes...

My point is, I'm enjoying the gorgeous cast and their acting but depictions of violence, not so much, and I don't know how long I'll last. It doesn't mean the series is poorly done, oh no, on the contrary, it's amazing. What I've watched so far is 10/10. So, let's just try and enjoy what we can, shall we.

On the positive note, I can't get myself to binge on this one, it really forces me to take longer pauses, which means I'll get to be more productive irl.

FINALLY! (⁠╥⁠﹏⁠╥⁠)

Well, maybe it's time to take a step back from kdrama madness.

Endings give me "Oppa, I'm sad. Why sad? Give up!♡" vibes. Loving it, but dropping it isn't an option yet.

Who'd ever say I'd be thanking Woo Dohwan for temporarily curing my kdrama addiction, but that day has also come. Consider yourselves warned if you do choose to watch the series. It's definitely bittersweet for above mentioned reasons. As for the ending, I have no idea what happens, hopefully I'll get to that eventually, sharing a couple of thoughts & spoilers too.

Signing off, hope you all have a lovely week ahead of you. Thank you for reading my silly little scribbles (⁠ ⁠ꈍ⁠ᴗ⁠ꈍ⁠)

Till next time,

xx

Pluto

[honestreviewsblog]

Tale of the Nine Tailed 1938 Kdrama - A Fan's Journey (with spoilers!)

Ep 1-4

My mom and I were laughing our heads off! Oh my God it was amazing. I expected it to have loads of comedy and even if I did I was still surprised at the comedic scenes. But when it does get serious it gets serious real good so watch out for seriously cool characters (ehem Lee Yeon) hahahaha.

And I'm really excited for Lee Rang's love life I was literally squealing the whole time it was shown. The sibling relationship was hands-down a nail in the head and everytime Lee Yeon teases Rang on his 'relationship', I just wanna say, "Mhmm, felt" HAHAHAHAHA.

Everything's been going really great that I'm seriously scared of what's gonna happen in the next few episodes. Nothing's going to go wrong til the 30 days were up... right?

Ep 5-6

It was brilliant! Hahahahaha. Ep 6 ended amazingly, it was a stroke of genius really. The corner game was so creepy though, I'm totally in with the squad on this—like why do humans play with creepy games like corner games and ouija boards so much??? Like?? Whyy?? Doesn't make any sense I don't see anything good happening from it either.

Anyway, Shin-ju's fight for their independence was so heartwarming it really healed my soul. That secret meeting at the boutique has my heart.

And Rang's love life continues to be really cuteeee oh my God, I wouldn't stop gushing over how cute it is. He's so clueless (but I could be wrong hmmmm??) so every moment they have feels so hilariously fresh. And I love the mermaid's little povs, because she shows an ideal version to people (esp Rang cos she likes him) so when we hear it, it definitely adds so much to her charm.

I'm curious to what Mu-young's real intentions are really, and I couldn't wait for the next episodes 😭

Ep 7-8

Ep 7 was a continuation of ep 6 and I'm so overwhelmed with feelings for the trio's friendship (Yeon, Mu-yeong, and Hong-ju). I always knew there's much more to Mu-yeong's brother being killed and I can't say I'm surprised but I probably still am.

Lee Rang's whole character is very well executed in this episode and I couldn't stop commending his love for his brother, I was crying freaking out when the villain thingies kept on slashing him and beating him up to get him to let go of the thread that leads his brother out of that realm—but he didn't let go no matter what 😭 He's such a good kid I want to put him in my pocket. And his lovelife (I keep mentioning it cos it's so cuteee!!) is so heart warming my mom and I keep gushing over it. I'm so happy for Ms. Mermaid and Rang, seriously they deserve all the happiness in the world.

Mu-yeong is going full on villain energy and I can't wait to see it but at the same time I know how much this would hurt Lee Yeon so I'm torn 😭

Ep 9-10

Ugh. Ep 10 was such an annoying episode. Ms. Mermaid was bitten by the yacha?? Rang was bitten by the yacha?? Yeon lost both of the treasures?? He switched bodies with Nyudo?? I hate it so much??? Nobody from the protagonist's sides were winning and it feels like throughout both of the episodes, they were just milking it on and trying to delay the inevitable. If somebody's gonna die, just die already! Jeez!

Anyway, I'm not hating it, just really really upset with how things are panning out. But I know there's gotta be a reason for all these experiences and I know they're gonna help the main characters with their charac dev. Hoping it'll happen soon though, cos I'll annihilate everyone if my bb boy Rang ever dies in the next episode.

Finale Episodes (11-12)

OH MY GOD IT WAS BRILLIANT 😭 There was a twist even towards the end and I was at the edge of my seat all throughout.

First of all, Rang was brilliant, I was screamingcryingthrowingup the whole time his fight scene with the 2 Japanese mercenaries were shown. I was so proud, I couldn't even 😭😭 This precious boy had totally grown up, he can protect his loved ones now, my affection points for him just went up by a thousand.

Yeon showing his tails towards the end while fighting the commander-general (?) was sooo freaking satisfying. The whole fight scene was so satisfying, I was punching the air the whole time. And I couldn't be more glad that both Jindo (iforgothisnamei'msosorryhahaha) and Little Mermaid was safe from the mercenaries. Everybody got their happy endings and I feel relieved.

So many things happened in a month and it makes sense since it's 1938. They were almost always on the verge of dying and there were loads of lessons learned but I was thankful for the whole ride.

To the pd-nims and writers of the show, I'm not even sure if you could read this but, I still want to thank you for this amazing drama. I enjoyed the rollercoaster ride and I hope you all would continue making these masterpieces.

(lowkey hoping for season 3!!! cos I think the ending was open enough for another season, don't you think??)

I FINISHED THIS ONE!! IT WAS BRILLIANT!! 1000/10

[talagalaxies]

ep5 rewatch time!

first of all, thank you dp, cinematographer, and editor FOR LETTING ME SEE CLEARLY THE NIGHT SCENE

i know those red-orange pollen stuff at the beginning is a stand in for blood because sw isn't gory; but i can't help but see them as marigolds.

KYLO REN THEME MENTIONED!!! it's very subtle but its there!

QIMIR IS SO NASTY AF WHEN FIGHTING. Boy just solo-ed 5 jedi while wearing an almost-blind mask???

overall, the fighting choreo is phenomenal. i can't stress enough. from lightsaber fights to fist-fights. And I love they have fist-fights between force-sensitives

so.....the jedi indeed forgot what a sith looks like huh? they're so confident and relax that the sith won't emerge again? to the point that a red lightsaber didn't turn their alarms off. sol said that qimir used a jedi weapon. a red lightsaber, a JEDI WEAPON.

yord said that qimir uses the jedi arts "wrong" as if there's no other form of martial arts out there. the jedi are so entitled that they own everything, huh?

qimir is very nasty on chasing the twins bruh. him throwing HIS LIGHTSABER to osha and him chasing mae like a wolf while TELEPATHICALLY telling her how pathetic she was.

this happened in ep1 & ep2, but what's this "mae" calling osha? is this the twin's force bond at work? but why to osha tho? why didn't mae have one? or this force bond thingy unconscious?

sol punching tf out of qimir is so kdrama-coded, especially reminds me of squidgame's final game in which both characters punch tf out of each other to death.

now i think about it--sol can beat qimir aside--did qimir purposely be defeated by their fist-fight? so that it'll prove his notion that sol isn't the snowflake he posed as?

also did qimir and sol met before? hmmm

qimir is just ijboling around this ep. taunting sol, deflecting the questions thrown at him, his laugh at "is this your master" to osha, "that's it's name?" he's having a good time actually!

the twin's reunion scene is even painful on this rewatch. mae really wants her sister, she lets go of her vengeance when she saw her. but osha is full of hate that she can't reconcile with her sister. "the jedi were more of a family than you are" BRUHHHH. this will make ep8 10x more painful oooff

even being ambushed by giant cicadas, qimir still has the stamina to massacre all of them. what's your gym routine king.

KYLO REN THEME MENTIONED

THE VIOLINS THAT ARE ASSOCIATED WITH OSHAMIR IS THERE TOO ALONGSIDE THE KYLO REN THEMED OHH HOOOO

[yemme]

Romance is a Bonus Book ~ Beat his ass Eun-Ho

[gowriarun]

Summer crushes

Modern (high school) au! genshin male characters x reader Summary: he likes me? likes me not?! He likes me! he likes me not?! Oh how you wish these five petals could actually tell weather or not your dear liked you! He smiles at you! that must mean something!! Let the god of wisdom and love guide you through because you sure as hell was blind and dumb with everything related to your little crush! My god was he the sweetest most adorable and darling thing you have seen!! And a bold move to change what existed as friendship crossed your mind and that's how you were here, in front of the angel himself... (Basically how they'd react to your confessions lmao)

VENTI has written poems about this very moment, except he was the one confessing to you!! So when you stand in front of him with your head down and cheeks red, he starts to blush and stutter just like you! VERY awkward for a few minutes "I understand if you don't reciprocate!! Th-thanks for hearing me out!" And when you try and leave and cry, he stops you by grabbing your hand....... LIKE THOSE KDRAMA SCENES "I uhm-... I too you know, I too like you!" He stutters out in the end with a small blush still on his face that immediately reddens even more once he sees the sparkles in your eyes. Hugs you <3

Much like venti, XIAO too would be awkward at first. Not knowing what to do, or weather this was a prank and he was about to be made fun off. Therefore he asks you again "W-What?", he has a wide eyed look on his face that makes you regret everything you did so far- Doesn't mean for it to be that rude but he couldn't help in!! When you run away from the roof, he doesn't stop you since hes processing his own thought..... and that takes some time. After school he sends you a text : I want to talk, tell me when you're free, we can go to a nearby café.: While the message seemed pretty direct, he had paced around for quite some time before sending it. He tells you he feels the same in the cafe with the biggest blush on his face!! Can't even keep his eye contact- And it worsens even more when he sees you again all happy and sparkly making his heart beat out of his chest!

Things your joking at first, trying to flirt with him like he does with you. KAEYA places both his hands on top of you and locks you to the wall. "Oh? What's this? Our y/n is a little bold today no? " Teases the living shit out of you until you run away realizes after you do that; that you ever serious! Runs after you after a few seconds and once he caught up to you; lifts you up and spins you! Hugs you <3 "Well I suppose there's no point hiding it anymore, I like you too, darling" says darling just to see you blush more

I might make a part two of this! If you guys have any one particular in mind, lmk!! Or any requests in general!