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Would You Rather #51

In dramaland, leading ladies often find themselves torn between the love of two equally attractive men — a choice none of us would want to make! But what if you did have to pick between the frustrating lawyer and the adorkable police officer? In this feature, we ask you to make the difficult decisions — and we aren’t limiting our options to dreamy oppas.

Vote via the poll and feel free to use the comments to explain exactly how you were able to choose! So, Beanies:
 


 
WOULD YOU RATHER #50 RESULTS

Another round of Would You Rather has yielded a clear winner, as the vast majority of you indicated that you’d rather have your rom-com turn into a melodrama. @gikata was particularly passionate in expressing distaste for pointless cliffhanger endings who ignore the first rule of storytelling: start with an ending point in mind. A lot of Beanies express similar distaste for K-dramas with abrupt endings that feel more like a “cop-out” and “punch to the gut” (@welh640), and perhaps, as @asianromance suggested, a lot of us feel this way because we gravitated towards K-dramas due to their (traditionally) single-season format. We rely on K-dramas to save us from the frustration of having a favorite story prematurely canceled (@kurama knows what I’m talking about).

While having a rom-com turn into melodrama midway through the plot can be disappointing, it at least gives you the autonomy to, as @bunnysonaki put it, “either hate watch it or drop it.” It is, according to @darkcc, “like being promised a meal and coming to the table to find only an empty plate with a little handwritten note saying ‘maybe next time.'”

However, the Beanies who voted in favor of cliffhangers were just as passionate and creative with their analogies when it came to their hatred for genre-jumping dramas. @sunnyboo likened the experience to “signing up for a yoga class only for it to turn into body pump halfway through.” In general, there was consensus among the vocal minority of voters that they want a K-drama to deliver on its advertised promise, and they’re more willing to accept a cliffhanger ending so long as the ride to get there was enjoyable. And, well, if you’re ever dissatisfied with a cliffhanger ending, you can join @marblebees in reading some good ol’ fashioned fan fiction.

 
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I don't really care about my best angle, I don't post any picture of me. So music for me!

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Me too. I love music so let it be!

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OH, god. Photos!

Those of us who have actually had the second thing happen may be in two camps, but PLEASE not again. And yes, the singing was fine. My embarrassment was not though.

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But I feel "knowing your best angles" will get very irritating very soon!

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Just wait until someone who thinks they’re a great performer sings at you 🤦🏼‍♀️

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I have one at home!🤣 I try to be a patient appreciative morher, but usually I finally say: you sound like a crow, you know... And he explodes!!🤣🤣

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Awwww, that’s completely different when it’s your kid! That would be really difficult *pats Midnight on back*

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😊🫰🫰

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Yep, can easily get into creepy version of "artist and his muse" territory.

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Exactly...

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I didn't take the prompt to mean that the love interest would be taking my photo 24/7, just that they knew how to make me look good in them! What's not to love?

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Yes, can be lovely too!

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From which drama does scene#2 come from? 🤔
As for the answer of this question... neither please 🙈. When in public, I want to attract the least amount of stares possible 😂

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That's from "Lovestruck in the City," when Jae-won ( Ji Chang Wook) taught himself how to play Yurisangja's "Let Me Love You" (이런 난 어떠니) on the guitar and sang it to Eun-oh (Kim Ji Won) on the beach in Yangyang.

I see Ji Chang Wook... I CLICK. 🥰

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Oh! Thanks for the reveal 👍

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Thanks for shot-out, I'm totally gonna use "particularly passionate in expressing distaste" in my resume someday)))

So, embarrassing confessions time - while I'm really good looking, I'm also utterly unphotogenic. Not sure if it's my hardcore resting bitch face syndrome, camera flash (or any strong light) sensitivity or just overall physical awkwardness, but the number of my photos I DON'T hate is super limited. I've learned to accept this and moved on. There's no actual "best" angle for me, they're all equally tragic and don't do the real thing any justice. So as much as the idea of a boyfriend with magical camera skills may look tempting, I don't quite believe in it, sorry.

Serenading, in other hand, is FUN. Yep, I've had this happening to me - been a while since last time tho - and I loved it every single time, perhaps due to lucking out with decent enough performers. And hell, man who loves music and has a great voice IS my ideal type! Bring it on)))

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I don't know the reason for this but I know celebrities who have this exact problem. They are gorgeous on screen, but none of their photos look as fine as their moving clips.

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Yes, I think looking good in static and motion are two entirely separate things. Must be something about body language, perhaps.

Cannot say I'm very video-genic either, but, to be fair, there's simply too little such footage to say surely - learning very early that camera does not love me I made an effort to avoid it whenever I can^^ Heard an opinion that working with a pro equipment and photographer can help, but few times I did exactly that things didn't improve in the slightest... Well, I shouldn't complain about it too much - would've been more troublesome if my photos were way prettier than me irl, right?^^

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Right! 😂👌

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Numeric camera are very unforgiving. They exacerbate the colour differences and smooth nothing without post-traitement.
Anecdote : a few years back, at a famiy fiesta I wore a blush that I was gifted and applied by my sisters. I believe I was ok irl, but I look like a clown in the (numeric) photos.

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Huh. And here I always thought the problem was cameras smoothing too much, robbing my face of its natural colors and shadows (except panda eyes, ofc) and depth of shape... For example, I have very sharp cheekbones. Cameras blur them into barely there state, to the point that when I know I'll HAVE to take pics (for documents etc), I need to use ridiculous amount of sculpting makeup to replicate somewhat how I look bare-faced. So. Freaking. Annoying!

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Right now, it seems that votes are going 50-50, and frankly it makes sense. Would you rather have something great or another great thing... Well both, ideally. I would rather not have a choose between two nice things, bag the lot and run away in my best thief fashion.

Except that in this particular case, it's not closing between two amazing things. I see only one positive here: Someone who knows how to take good photos of me. Yes, please. If you are cursed with my utter inability to grasp basic facial expressions and on top of that someone who can't aim or time their camera properly, the result is always inevitably disappointing. The kind of disappointing where you look at the image, scratching your head and wondering how people don't run away from you. Is that truly what I look like? And more, importantly, if this is the case, can I sue my parents for physical damages and emotional distress?
Just a few weeks ago, I needed to take author photos for the first time. The excitement of a first time rapidly de-escalated into abject horror. It doesn't matter how much I tried, I could only confidently master 2 faces: Smiling and the I-am-going-to-murder-the-whole-planet-passport photo. If I don't have a mirror to practice repeatedly, I don't know how to pull any other faces. Needless to say, having someone who can pose me to capture images that would not give me or anyone else nightmares would be a massive improvement (on both my self-esteem and everyone else's sanity)

On the other hand, a serenade... Nope, that isn't for me for a variety of reasons. I enjoy silence rather than music. Not that I won't listen to music, but I'm one of those boring neurodivergent souls who would rather wear noise-cancellers or headphones with the same whale song on loop (actually not a whale song, just whatever songs I happen to fixate on at the time) than hit a random Spotify playlist to relax. And if I am trying to work, silence is the preferred option. Anything else is too disruptive. So, having someone violently interrupting my peaceful thoughts to serenade me is unlikely to end up well for the relationship.
There is also a showy element to many serenade stories. It is rarely a private event. It is often performed in public. It does take a lot of courage to do so, and a complete lack of understanding of what makes me happy or comfortable. Someone serenading me may end up at the receiving end of a bucket of water (I might even include the bucket in the throw). I may also worry about their sanity in general because, dude, if you'd seen any of my photos, you wouldn't want to serenade me. You'd be running away at top speed.

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Being paparazzied by my GF would probably be quite annoying; there are more cute songs than the angles of my face.

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I don't know why but the first thought I had was, "which one is more likely to cheat, the one who knows all my best angles or the one who has a nice voice and likes to sing?" Both guys sound nice but I want the one who will be loyal to me. Whether they're good at taking portraits or musically gifted, they should not have a wandering eye or sing for just anybody. Hope that makes sense. If I didn't have to worry about loyalty, I would choose serenading. You can teach someone which angles are your best. Or ideally, he should think I am beautiful from any angle. Like my dad, who even when my weight ballooned to ridiculous proportions, thought I was the most beautiful girl in the world, forever his little girl. But the gift of singing is not something you can teach, nor the willingness to sing for someone. Ideally, I would like someone who has a beautiful singing voice that's good enough to go professional but doesn't show it off all the time. But when asked to, he can sing naturally and confidently. Am I asking too much?

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And he should be able to accompany himself on the guitar or piano as well haha

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I believe my grandfather won my grandmother over with his singing.

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I don't know what either of these dramas is referring to but the seranade seems nice. Especially if the singer has a nice voice and can just give you the tingles.

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Ji Sung and Kim A Joong's movie MY P.S. PARTNER (or WHATCHA WEARIN') delivered the most iconic romantic serenading scenes in k-cinema, afaik. Note that it's adult rated and serenade in question has a total riot for lyrics))) Still earworm tho.

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Whatcha Wearin' is one of the most entertaining rom-coms I ever watched! I now crave to re-watch it.

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It's funny as heck and, unlike most k-romcoms, has a super fitting ending in tone with the rest of the story)))

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I don't know how to react when people sing an entire song in a serious way. I'm used to the chaotic karaoke vibe.

I can't take anyone singing for three whole minutes without me being able to sing along or dance and scream freely. But the worst part is that they're singing for me so I won't even be able to get bored freely. I would have to give them an awkward smile the whole time. But I can't even handle people singing happy birthday to me! LOL it's just weird.

Therefore I choose knowing all the good angles. I only take pictures with other people in it. So it would be like a selfie of the two, but they'll be taking it, a 100% of the time.
I look better from far away. Hahaha.

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hahaha I saw a photo of my childhood crush on social media. he is now an ahjussi but in low lighting he can still take my breath away!

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I see a kdrama plot right there. 🙈

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hahaha Tabong

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you won't feel awkward if they're just singing to themselves and you just happened to be in the room listening. then it's just pure enjoyment without having to worry about your reaction. when I was a girl I used to play an instrument in a community center and people would just sit in while I practiced. many years later my friend told me that she thought a boy she liked had a crush on me because he would always sit there listening while I practiced my music. but I knew it was probably just the music that attracted him, not me. it turned out that he had been in love with my friend the whole time, but she misunderstood and thought he liked me.

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Yeah, totally. If the person is doing their own thing it doesn't bother me. I can vibe with what they're playing/singing on my own and there isn't a problem. 😅

Omo. So they never got together? That's so sad. 🥲

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they didn't get together :T but each found a wonderful partner and got married, so all was not lost. but yes he secretly liked her from high school until she got married first. I was an idiot and went and liked him too, so it became a love triangle in our 20's. that was the first time I experienced liking someone who liked someone else, ah so bittersweet.

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Omo. But at least it had a happy ending, even if it wasn't the same for everyone.

...This reminded me of Do You Like Brahms?
I can't stop thinking in dramas. LOL

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@tabong life is drama and dramas are life! what I learned from this group of friends that I had from high school is that everyone has their own type. sometimes the person we fall in love won't return our affections not because we're not good enough, but because we're just not their type. for example, one guy's dream girl had absolutely no interest in him. but she ended up being attracted to his friend, who I guess was her type. they got married instead. there were a lot of mismatches in our 20's, a lot of messy and painful love triangles and love squares because we liked people who didn't like us back. and then everything mostly sorted out by our 30's. the people who were meant for each other found each other. Another thing I noticed is that girls tend to marry guys who remind them of their fathers. So there was a great guy, really smart and funny with a full head of hair and he chased after a beautiful girl who just did not give him the time of day, not interested at all. and then she ended up falling in love with a balding guy. At her wedding we saw her dad, and he was bald too. So she secretly had a type that maybe she even didn't realize, only when she met the right guy she was able to fall in love. so funny!

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I legit just said that I also don't like it when people sing Happy Birthday to me! Haha.

Actually, that's a good point: I would definitely relish the chance to sing a love duet! Though it'd probably be like "Serious" in the Legally Blonde musical where I start to sing and it annoys the guy because he's not done yet.

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OMO. Everytime I do karaoke with my unnie and she chooses a song I know, I start to sing along the chorus and she gets annoyed because it's her song.

Or sometimes when we do a duet she gets the best part (she ALWAYS chooses the guy's part because the female singer's range is "too high" and my unnie refuses to strain her voice or wtv), and I sing along and she gets soooooo annoyed. 😂
I'm low-key a pain in the butt when it comes to singing.

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I always prefer the girl's part (I'm a soprano) so we'd make a good karaoke team! Haha

I'm a pain, too. I love singing, and it's so hard for me to hear singing without joining in. I've gotten less intense about karaoke since I started doing community musical theatre, at least.

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It depends! If we're singing something like "No Air" or "Somebody to Love (glee ver)" I HAVE to do the girl's part. Hahaha. I love high notes!

But then we decide to do something like IU x Kim Soo Hyun's duet "I Can't I Love You?" (from Dream High), and I feel like his part sounds cooler, but she won't let me switch. T.T
Even if it is two women like IU x Yang Hee Sun's duet "Daydream" (yeah, we like IU🤣), I will have to do IU's part even if I like YHS's better.

Exactly! Singing together makes it better!! For childhood songs it is 100% sure I'll join so my unnie doesn't get annoyed with those, even if it is her turn. 😅

I'm glad you're having fun with the musical theatre. ^^

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community musical theatre sounds like a wonderful way to participate in music. I wish more people could experience the joy of making music together besides karaoke. for example, joining choirs, playing in community orchestras and bands, etc. musical theatre sounds like so much fun!!!

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I know what you mean about feeling uncomfortable when people sing Happy Birthday. If it's just my close family and friends, it's okay. But if it's like a big group with people I'm not that close with, then it feels embarassing and not enjoyable. People who love me singing happy birthday makes me happy, I think. Asians are more sensitive to the idea that small face = beautiful. But here's my take on that: as someone who likes art, I think of faces as canvases. smaller canvas isn't necessarily better. so the bigger the face, the bigger canvas you have. more space is good! for example, Angelina Jolie doesn't have a small face but she's still one of the most beautiful actresses alive. In fact, I prefer larger faces as an artist. when you have a small face, all the features are tightly packed together like sardines. it actually doesn't look good from a visual perspective, in my humble opinion XD

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Even if it is my family I just run away. My mom likes signing a happy birthday version we have for when people are waking up, and I don't know what to do with that. It's just you, barely awake, listening to a birthday song while lying in bed. Hahaha. I prefer quiet hugs and kisses.

Oh, no. I'm no Angelina Jolie. I look better from afar 100%. Only in pictures tho. My face doesn't look that big in RL... I think. LOL

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haha awww that sounds very sweet. I guess serenading is your mom's love language? --> "My mom likes signing a happy birthday version we have for when people are waking up, and I don't know what to do with that. It's just you, barely awake, listening to a birthday song while lying in bed."

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Yeah. Singing it's a thing in my home. 😅

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I absolutely cannot be serenaded unless my lover is being played by someone with what I deem to be a legitimately good singing voice, like Lee Jun-young, Lee Sang-yi, or that dude who was the 2ML in Heartbeat. I am HORRIBLY critical and picky when it comes to singing. Like, it would be a bad time for both of us. Also, I don't even like it when people sing "Happy Birthday" to me, so probably wouldn't love sitting through a serenade even with a wonderful singer.

So I'm gonna go with the second one for sure.

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Actually, there are few singers whose voice that makes me swoon to the extent where I could probably handle the embarrassment. Like Steven Pasquale https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVEkCujOHkg

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I don't like it either when people sing to me "Happy Birthday", lol

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I don´t like being on pictures. not exactly serenade but a friend did write a song about me and some musician friends have used my poems / lyrics. But it was more like based on me, not serenading to.

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that's a lovely compliment and homage

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If someone gave me a penny for every time I told a man to “capture my best angle” who delivered the worst possible angle in a photo, I’d be a bagazillionnaire! Frankly, ngl, I’m so jealous of those insta boyfriends.

Also, it reminds of that hilarious scene from Queen of Tears when one of the “evidence” presented of love of Baek Hyun Woo toward Hong Hae In was how he always tried to find her best angle and how he “strained” and “focused” to get her legs long in the picture. 😂

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Getting the right angle can be hard work! Also in Love Next Door, once the ML's parents' reconciled, the husband also strained and looked ridiculous in pursuit of getting the best pics of his wife.

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Yes! Love is ultimately an attention toward your so’s wishes.

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Definitely best angles. For someone to know my best angles, they would have to be attentive to me, knowledgable about my quirks and thoughtful about my personality. Taking a best photo requires quite a bit of intimacy and bonding.

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This can be a tough choice. I do appreciate great photos especially on vacation and its great to have friends who can take great photos. Which made me realize its better that friends take it so you can have great photos together with ur significant other, if its a group vacation. (I promise to take good instructions so I can return the favor) but if its just us, I prefer taking photos of the places we see and candid photos.
I have a soft spot for guys with a great singing voice.

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For once no hesitation for me, so I'm surprised by the results at the moment with 56% only prefering to have good photos albums.

Maybe I'm not romantic, but I really don't see the point of the serenade. And if it is in public, I'll run away.
I just wrote and performed a song for my cousin's wedding (with the whole family singing), but that is not the same. Is it ?

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Music is everything to me but being serenaded feels like too much pressure. I like to enjoy my music alone 🙈 So a significant other who knows all my best angles sounds more manageable. I'm guessing he'll also know that the only way to get a decent picture of me is to not tell me we are taking pictures. So if he's good at secretly photographing my best angles then I think we are good.

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Best angles, please! I'm not very photogenic. I need someone to remind me to straight up my posture for the standing pics and close my legs for the sitting pics. Can't go wrong with nice pics!

Serenades will make me feel embarrassed, especially if it's a public serenade. And what if it's a song that I don't like or am tired of listening? Too many variables.

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