I mean, I’m here with all the benefit of the doubt. I felt that the wrist grab was played for OTT humor. It was so lame, it wrapped around to self-aware humor.

But, as is clear, I’m giving way more benefit of the doubt than most.

Please do me a favour and pinpoint the eps and times.

Ha, do the WORK, Emma. But, if you’re really, really lucky I’ll point to the two most delightful examples that I can think of in my next gif post 😅

You are mean!

There is this lovely habit some very tall people have in SK (and maybe in other parts of Asia as well) where they shorten their height by splaying their legs when interacting with much shorter people, eg make us artists, etc.

Apparently, Trudeau did it as well: https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/justin-trudeau-struck-this-manner-legs-pose-during-a-photo-op-in-south-korea-here/article_192724e8-7548-5a22-bd65-7a422beed585.html

I put a couple of screenshots on my fanwall to demonstrate.

@gikata In all seriousness, have you SEEN how serious I’ve been about this show recently on the Fan Wall? I’m ready to get quite serious.

I’m not quite sure how talking about an 11” height difference could ever so qualify though. People are people, ya know? Sometimes physics gets in the way!

@attiton , you mean that giant JK defending essay? Can't relate, man's still deep down in negative in my books, to borrow HAPPINESS' FL way to judge people.

Oh, trust me, I of all people know! Dated a guy 13cm taller than me once... gosh, what a freaking pain in the neck it was! Never again, that's for sure. But if fate still decides to troll me into kissing guys as tall as RW, watch me unironically bringing the chair to do that. HJ should try just that btw, bet it's gonna fuel their relationship progress significantly!

@gikata your chair comment reminds me of the Netflix film 'Tall Girl' where the ML literally carried a milk crate around for ages so that he could use it when he eventually got a chance to kiss the FL 😆

@lapislazulii , oh! Inspirational optimism))) Did he get lucky in the end? Reminds me of one of my favorite fictional heroes - woman he fell for was like 1.5 heads taller than him, so during the grand proposal scene (she was the one proposing lmao - he tried first before and that was a disaster worthy of wildest makjangs out there... long story) he had to stand on some bench to, ahem, convey his approval properly))) I still rooted for the other girl tho - the one that was TWICE his height, a ship doomed since the get-go. But that was worth it, if only for all the ladder jokes...

Nope. No SY-NY kissing. Na-yeon’s even said he doesn’t like to hold her hand…

@attiton Or anything else hers for that matter lol. Saw people theorizing that they never were properly intimate together at all, but I feel like this is pushing it a bit too far)))

P.S. Will they EVER tell us what HJ was doing all night in his apartment when he got drunk and how our boy ended up naked back then? No? Dammit!

@gikata Well, I don't know what "properly" intimate actually means--folks can be pretty inventive--but the fact tthat she's willing to state outright that she's not satisfied, though, implies that whatever they may be doing, it isn't inventive enough :)

Whatever their sexual relationship may be, I think it's clear that he's never been very interested in her, even as an interlocutor, throughout the drama. The cynical side of me says they're doing that to make him seem just-slightly-less-than-a-total-asshole for not leading her on or something. Feh. It's a shame we don't know more about why they started dating--although you and I have relatively strong inferential evidence that it was because their families threw them together.

If you go back and listen to all the crap that Na-yeon spews at Hong-jo before she passes out in that restaurant, it's all pretty depressing, frankly. She states all the things she wishes were happening, but are not. Hong-jo sees through it, sort of, as do we, but I really do feel for Na-yeon.

In the same way that @cecilieDK pointed out a few episodes back that if Shin-yu couldn't be sure that Hong-jo reciprocated his feelings, by "siding with her openly," he'd be jumping off a cliff, facing the possibility of being left completely alone without a single human being on his side--Na-yeon will have only Construction Chaebol if this thing with Shin-yu falls apart...and something tells me he's not enough either. She's facing having to construct another entire future for herself. I could see why that would make a person clingy.

@attiton Guess I was too vague here - people (on MDL specifically) has been speculating for quite a while that SY never bedded NY, or is even a total virgin altogether. Which I find pretty ridiculous given his, well, stats in general and the way he and their relationship are portrayed in the show in particular. But yeah, it's clear he's not into her at all neither emotionally nor physically, and likely never was. She also isn't welcome in his living space (he moved places without telling her and made his displeasure with her sudden visit and attempts to mark the territory with her own/couple stuff very clear), while with HJ he stressed repeatedly that she knows and remembers the password to his door... In fact, he's so like that funny grandma from MULAN animation: "Pls stay for dinner, and preferably for life too!")))

You're probably right about why that was direction chosen by writer for his character, but I wouldn't call it that untrue to life - many people, esp in his social circle, live with people they have little to no interest in. That's Joseon all over again, and we all know what it led to last time...

I don't really care about NY's personal happiness - as her side boy rightly said, she has all the resources to life a much happier and fulfilling life, so that's entirely on her that she prefers to be miserable pining over a man who has more passion for a ghostly severed bloody hand than herself.

@gikata Ha, well, FWIW, I thought you were totally clear the first time.

...that's entirely on her that she prefers to be miserable pining over a man who has more passion for a ghostly severed bloody hand than herself.

I think, as well, that you're overstating the case here when you suggest she has the personal power to do whatever she likes in terms of creating her own relationships.

Just sticking to the confines of this drama (rather than making a statement about SK in the "real world"), I very much doubt that such is the case. Her job is dependent on her family connections, not her skills. Her livelihood is not really about her as a person--it's about her as a pawn in a system. She has to behave to get along, and this life with Shin-yu constitutes "behaving," and is acceptable enough for her. Once this relationship over (and it very much looks like it is)...who knows who will be foisted on her next.

I strongly push back on this being largely her responsibility. She's not without any power, but she's not the one in charge here.

@attiton Possible, but we've yet to see any strong indicator that her father forces her into this marriage as strongly as SY's father does to him. I've been under impression that it's more about SY's overall status (plus looks) than him or his family personally, so while she likely IS somewhat restricted by societal expectations in terms of who she can and cannot date, I find it hard to believe that if she had just ditched SY the whole crowd of guys not much worse than him wouldn't immediately show up to fill the empty spot. Her current boy toy may not be quite up there with his shady business and scandalous reputation (but her dad doesn't seem to mind much - wonder if their recent "collab" is the guy's long term plan to smoothly replace SY as preferred son-in-law), but let's not act as these two are the last promising bachelors left in SK))) Unless plot 100% proves me otherwise I'll stand on the opinion that she could've done better than ANY of them if she really put an effort to try. If we're not excusing SY for being hesitant to break their relationship and follow his heart, his clan's possible dismay over such mesalliance notwithstanding, why should we excuse her? She's not even dying from terminal brain illness/curse, as far as I'm concerned, and has significantly more time to find a way around any possible obstacles to her own happiness!

I didn't like that show very much, but Rowoon doing full-body origami for the romantic moments was both a highlight and a distraction.

There are a lot of similare scenes between the 2 shows (the elevator scene, his head on her shoulder, when he helped her with the flower).
I think the PD of Sunbae was more imaginative to make their romantic scenes. There was the kiss on stairs, on the stone thing, sit down on the bed. Their hugs were differen too.

In this one, we got the same hug at each time.

she was wearing heeled boots I think - that shot is also in the intro sequence and the first time I saw those nice boots in the wet sand it made my eye twitch 😆

@lapislazulii Thank god I didn’t note it at the time. Drama blinders, activated!

I coined the term because I know how it feels, Indy. 😍

I just like to keep my cool around my finely-featured scarecrow.

He's much more fun to watch in motion than in still images, though, I can tell you that.

@indyfan All I'm saying is that he makes kissing shorter women look more awkward than it really is. But sure, he wears clothes as if he's done it all his life. And nobody moves his ears as gracefully.

@hacja I think it's more on the PD and the fact they were kinda first kiss scenes, so the FL didn't move at all.

It was more natural in The King's Affection and Park Eun-Bin is very small too :p

I do! But WHO WOULD THEY BE OF…??

Do the Beanies wanna vote?

Does Seon-ha have a rooftop apartment filled with pillows, embroideries, paintings, cardboard cutouts and other relic-like paraphernalia (ie, half-drunk water bottles) from/of:

A) Rowoon (Shin-Yu)
B) Ha Joon (Jae-kyung)
C) Jo Boa (Hong-jo)
D) Ahn Sang-wu (Garden Dude)

My vote: No garden dude and add Manager Ma?

@attiton Oh they have to be Ha Joon and Jo Boah. Then you can act out an alternative ending and have them doing kissy-kissy, smooch-smooch. 😀

@attiton LOL! Oh yes, pick Ha Joon. As per dramaland rules, Rowoon will then end up being flung into your apartment, blindfolded.

@sonai OMG GALAXY BRAIN. This was thinking like 10 steps ahead for me.

How can I ever repay you for making that image show up in my imagination????

@attiton Anytime! Just know that I’m wriggling my eyebrows in a very unsubtle way right now. 🤣

I love that you can read Hangeul and understand. Do you know why ‘a family of dogs’ would be used in this context?

I’m so jealous you can read these character descriptions! On IMDb, we’re lucky to get the actor/actress’ name spelled correctly, let alone such a comprehensive description!

Ah! You got offered a translation! I had to use Google Translate. Thanks for sharing the link!

I've been expecting his dad to be in debt and that he's doing that kdrama thing of the child paying the debt of a deadbeat parent and that dad coming back for more money (like the FL's grifter mom in My Lovely Liar). I think he sold the expensive condo to either pay off that debt or to run away from his dad. He probably didn't want to admit his family business to Hong-jo so told her he wanted a change in scenery.

@dncingemma, in reply to your earlier comment, I cannot read Hangul - the page automatically translates for me (I believe it's because when I first visited a few weeks ago, it asked if I wanted it to auto-translate). My impression is that his "family" is a problem, whatever that means. I need to locate that scene with Hong Joo when he talks about his "family".

I'm only looking out for my BB Ha Joon and his character Jae-kyung. I'm setting myself up for a bad SLS eventuality but that okay for me.

I'm glad he has no direct affiliation to Creepy dude. It'll really hurt. And I hope your findings remain so.

😁

@kafiyah-bello: I conceded far too quickly and soon!LOL. @wonid2017 Kasumi did a stellar job of articulating what I felt. How about this?

It is not rambling at all! You spent time articulating all that I observed too. Nicely done!

No, not rambling AT ALL…@wonid2017…this is BEAUTIFUL!

@dncingemma, do you like this show or not?? I’m confused.

So I understand what you are saying, but your first sentence to me is what I don't buy. When was he fighting his attraction to her since he has known her. Honestly, maybe it is just me, but the show didn't show him fighting that attraction, for me it was just an abrupt I like her. In Crash Landing on You, there is an after scene where Hyun Bin's character sees Son Ye Jin's character dangling from the tree and smiles, even though he is relatively stoic to her the first few episodes. This is showing me he has interest. Meanwhile in Destined with You, we have Rowoon suddenly claiming, after literally leaving her in a decrepit old haunted house that he likes her after a spell. WHY? So this is my thought process, lol, but thank you for your lovely post and explanation for how you see why he likes her.😊

Not at all rambling, I really enjoyed reading this!

Nice writeup! Agree X 10000

I think he first sees her with interest when she says she does not want to feel like an outcast. Fellow feeling, cause he has always felt isolated cause of his illness? Realizing others have problems too? Something there.
He also gives her the workplace bullying helpline, haha!
Of course, you get all this only if you watch each episode x 😁

@kasumi this is a wonderful piece, I agree with what you are saying. They slowly get to know each other by spending time together, and they like what they see.
@kafiyah-bello hopefully this acts as the drama "showing" us why SY likes HJ.
Shin Yu sees how hardworking Hong Jo is
1. When he talks about how her colleagues only have 2 lines of task and she has 7. Here he made it a point to seek out he org chart to find out why it seems like she is the only one in her department.
2. When the doctor is explaining neural coupling and the flashback shows him noticing her literally getting her hands dirty on the job while placing the flowers, not just leaving it to others to do. Here he actually stops walking and looks at her, sees what she is doing.

But he already had feelings for her at this moment. He just reacted like always with the sollicitations he had to get by other women at work.

But it looked like he regretted pretty much immediately and not just because it was made public.

I actually see why 2ML likes her. After he rejected her. The rejection was shown to all and he felt badly about it. Then they moved in together and he saw her outside of a a work setting and got to like her at that point.

I agree with Kafiyah Bello that JK caught feelings around when they became neighbors. Prior to that, he did admire her hardworking attitude and complimented it on the work message board. He was only cold to her during her confession because he had some hangup about his dad that led him to be determined not to date. He wanted to cut off all hope.

Also, presumably psychic pain is likely to follow you throughout your lives so if she was betrayed, mistreated, became alienated and grief-stricken in her previous life, all of these might have left strong imprints on her soul.

I remembered that. But the show didn’t really make much use of that connection IMHO. And what did they talk about in that long ride while he refuses to tell her anything? Yeah, I know. I’m expecting a lot. 😀

@indyfan , they didn't talk at all, it was a LOADED silence kind of ride!)))

Your last point reminded me of research data that I saw a while ago showing that married men lived longer than unmarried ones. I wonder why? /S/

@dncingemma , from a cynical standpoint - regular (often homemade) meals and sex, reminders to take a better care of man's health, emotional support, shared house chores and/or financial responsibilities, reduced overall stress level due to stability of marriage...

Yup and unmarried women live longer than married ones. In the end, marriage really benefits men more.

I think he's pushing Nayeon since she's the most likely chance for the Jang family line to continue since Shin-yu can just die at any moment. No one knows that Shin-yu is chasing after some other girl. Also, Nayeon's dad is a mayor and for such a long prominent lineage as these Jangs (Joseon Shin-yu's dad was a governor), she's a good social match. Better one than some girl who had the temerity to be a lowly orphan.

@dncingemma While the study you saw has been verified several times for exactly the reasons @gikata mentioned, as a married man I am happy to say that @asianromance 's assertion has in fact been pretty thoroughly discredited. (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4981792/ and more recently
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590113323000020 (at least as applied to married/unmarried nurses)

Note: Why am I feeling that I am having to defend myself in this comment section? First an attack on kissers taller than their partners and now unfair imputations about husbands effect on their wives health!

Let's talk about major thematic issues raised by the show, which are...um, Rowoon...kissing a shorter woman and why ...uh... anyone would want to marry!

@dncingemma @hacja We also shouldn't forget the fact that women tend to live longer in general. Where I live statistics claim around 9 years of difference in ladies favor, which is a lot. That's out to complicate any research on the topic...

I know, there is still inequality with home labor. But I do think that now that women aren't having 11 kids, marriage does not endanger their health, and the one longitudinal study did in fact find a health benefit to marriage for women, although I doubt it was as much as it is for men. I was just responding to the assertion that marriage was actually detrimental to women's physical well-being. As long as there is no domestic abuse, I think there is a general benefit to living with others.

As far as my own, deeply researched empirical study, what is being called "manner legs" is not generally a conscious thing, but a position naturally assumed--difficult, though for someone who is, say 6'4" and above, so I don't think professional basketball players should be blamed if they don't generally adopt this stance. But assuming that Rowoon is indeed about my height (6' 2 1/2) he should be easily able to manage. Given that he does seem so tall, though, I have wondered about his stated height. Is he one of those rare men who underplay their height? Or is just that Korean actresses are diminutive?

@hacja I've heard about cases of k-celebs not being 100% honest about their height in both directions - overplaying AND underplaying it, so there might be a chance that RW is indeed taller than that's written in his bio. I've never followed his idol career so can't say anything for sure on the matter. Maybe he's just more used to crouching since that's what many very tall people - often subconsciously - do... Or, perhaps, it's PD's fault for not managing such scenes better.

@hacja

Rowoon was saying his height was 189cm because in Korea it looks like it changes how people perceives you if you're still within 180cm after you're in the giant category for someone in the entertainment world.

But now he's honest and says his real height and it's 190cm.

In The King's Affection, Kim Taek who was playing Prince Wonsan, was taller than Rowoon, his height is 192cm.

I don't believe in anything about these two at this point, they're both shady af.

Doubt there is the correct definition of what makes a love epic. People are different and what makes them tick varies a lot too. I personally don't have a problem with SY falling madly for HJ this fast either due to spell, past life feelings or just on his own. Why not? Matters of heart is the one thing that can never be 100% rationalized.

I think it’s the job of the drama to make viewers believe. But you’re right in that we viewers are clearly different in what we need to believe.

Thank you for putting out the bat signal Indy, waiting for those GIFs gifts to be delivered any time soon now from our local hero ;) 🥰