Beanie level: Loan shark with a heart of gold

JUNG JI SO IS SO CUTE.
First time I see her and I’m a fan already.

#WhoIsShe?2

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    I admit I approached the episodes with *cautious excitement* but boy did they deliver!! Just the right amount of sweet and tart and angst and anticipation. And I love that twist in the preview for next week. 😂 Now I’m here for ALL the hijinks.

    PS – When did Jinyoung grow up to be this fine. 😅🙃😂

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2024 ROUND UP: DAY 18
Favorite parents.

Baek Du’s, from Like Flowers in Sand.

2024 ROUND UP: DAY 19 
The cute kids who stole the show.

All of them. I especially liked the ones from Like Flowers in Sand, Family by Choice, Virtuous Business and Perfect Family. And of course our little boy from Seoul… Yes, like I said, all of them.

2024 ROUND UP: DAY 20 
The scene that touched my heart.

I never got the QoT pre-hype, so I never felt particularly disappointed by the show. Just regular annoyed about the same old stuff? So, to me this is just another show that I watch this year.
…I keep forgetting about it, to be honest.

However, if there’s something that I remember clearly about the experience of watching this drama (besides how we kept changing Eun-delulu’s name) is how much I liked Hae In’s family and their stories.

I think the family scenes were the ones that actually made me cry. Hae In’s brother fighting for his family. Or Hae In’s dad blaming himself for everything. They all had their time to be vulnerable and their time for redemption or growth.

And that’s why I particularly loved watching the development of Hae In’s relationship with her mom. Which makes the hospital scene of them letting out all of their resentment and fear and pain and regrets, my special touching moment of the year.

After losing their son and brother, they also lost each other, and this is when they connected again.

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2024 ROUND UP: DAY 17
tabong’s non K-drama recommendation.

This year I’m going to give The Bear a break, so:

Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire.

When I told uri oppa about this drama, he asked “is it like True Blood? They use the vamp nature to make social commentaries?”, and I was like “yeah, it is that, but also more”.

Every time I watch this show there’s something new I find in it.
When I watched the first season I thought it was about breaking free from your abuser. Then on a rewatch I thought that maybe it was just a toxic love story. Then I thought it was more of a journey of self acceptance, identity, and loneliness.
Until I realized that all of that was right. However, there was a bigger picture behind all that… and that’s for all of you to figure out while watching it. LOL

Tbh, if I had paid proper attention since day 1, the same way all the Tumblr detectives did, maybe I would’ve figured it out earlier.

I say that because this is a story about details. The fun is in the inconstancies of the characters’ narrative, the messy memories, and lies. But also in the peculiar architecture, and the not-random painting in the back. The body language, and the dialogue; everything is integrated so damn well. It’s a joy to rewatch this show.

So, in conclusion, I recommend this drama. 🤣 If you’re in the mood to watch something that feels like an exploration of the hum— vamp nature, go for it.

Honorable mentions:
The Bear (just do yourself that favor). Drama.
Mad Men. Drama.
This Town. Drama, music.
We Are Lady Parts (don’t freak out by the title like uri unnie did). Music, comedy, rom.
Colin from Accounts. There’s rom, and drama and comedy. And a dog.
The House in the Cerulean Sea. Cute and thoughtful book.

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2024 ROUND UP: DAY 16
Give me that spin-off.

Give me that spin-off is about those dramas that had a few scene stealers, and also those shows that made everyone shine, to the point you wanted most of the secondary/side characters to tell their own stories.

Well, I’m gonna be a predictable gal and just name the same two dramas I’ve been mentioning this whole time, 😆 Tell Me That You Love Me & Hagwon/Graduation.

These dramas made me so curious about their secondary/side characters. I wanted to know more about their past and see a little further into their future.
Even if some of them had their own journey inside the show, I think it wasn’t enough for most.

These shows had many charming, charismatic and interesting characters that I would like to get to know a little better.

I mean, am I the only one who would love a spin off of the Gray Witch from Hagwon? Like, watch her build her empire, lose it, and maybe get it back up again?
We got Dong Jae, so maybe this one is possible too?

I’m also interested in the ally of the year, uri teacher Cheong Mi. She was awesome. Even her mom in law knew it and hired her. LOL

I think the one character I would leave alone is teacher Pyo. He had a perfect story arc. No notes. No dissatisfaction.

And about TMTYLM… I’ve talked a lot about uri Se Kyung having her spin off. But, what about the best friend of the year, Ki Hyun? And his wife? I would do anything to see their story. They were the living proof that it was possible! Even if they had difficulties, they made it work. And they seemed lovely together. I want to see all of their lives.

A cute short series about Jo Han and all the girlfriends that inspired him for his music would be fun too. And then meeting his end game!

And I’m not even gonna start about the high school students from the art gallery… Too many spin offs already.

So, yeah. I just think there were some fun hidden stories in those wonderful dramas. And I would love to discover them.

Honorable mentions.
—Like Flowers in Sand.
—Mr. Plankton.
—QoT.
—My Sweet Lobster.
—No Gain No Love.
—Openly Cinderella.
Etc.


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2024 ROUND UP: DAY 15
Name the plot hole.

Lovely Runner.

I think saying there was a hole and they threw a little plot in it would be more accurate.

Honorable mentions:
Literally every single romcom of the year. And at least half of the dramas from other genres.

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Okay, I’m gonna start calling these two the dumb and dumber couple. Like, girl you literally used “I” and he replied with “we” in your previous call. HE ALREADY KNOWS IT’S YOU ON THE PHONE. And how would it make sense for the kidnapper to be there…? How are you gonna explain that he left and didn’t take his phone with him…? 😂

Anyway, did anyone notice that the second leads kinda look like an old (and smart!) married couple but our main duo acts like they’re barely in the “flirting” period? It’s cute, they’re all in their own world. It feels like two different shows or eating two different ice cream flavors.

I like All ice cream flavors, so it’s nice.

#WhenThePhoneRingsOnlyDumbdumbsPickUp
#I’mDumbTooSoIt’sFine

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    The dumb and dumber couple is a good way to call them.

    This drama hasn’t decided yet what it wants to be. Today it was Lovely Runner + My Sweet Mobster + any makjang.

    This episode seemed to last an eternity 😅

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      I was happy about the phone call (the one at home) until we got to the end and it was clear that they’re gonna drag the whole “he can’t know my identity” bs.

      I thought they were finally communicating directly. But we went back to square one for no apparent reason. They’re so dumb it’s just weird.

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        I think she is in pain having rib fractures (?) she has become delirious and doesn’t really care if he knows. He, so desperate to find her, doesn’t want to add to her distress at that moment and chooses the easiest way for her to talk. I laughed out loud when he picks up the phone and says “Heejoo ah”, then corrects himself immediately 😂

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          I mean I don’t think they’ll drag the “he can’t know my identity” in the next episode when she’s safe.

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            I hope so! It took him 5 episodes to figure out he was talking to his wife! I don’t wanna know how many it’s gonna take him to figure out about the bad guys. I think that’s why we have second leads in the show. So they can do the job. 😂

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          She was hesitating to call him because she didn’t want him to figure out it was her… I really can’t take the scene seriously. I just can’t. 😂

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    #HilariousAsUsual 😂😂😂 “dumb and dumber” Lol 😆

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2024 ROUND UP: DAY 13
The meta tabong loved.
Every time in Perfect Family when a character would talk about this “random Japanese movie” with the exact same plot of the show they were in, and would explain/foreshadow their own drama.

DAY 14
Favorite cameo.

Joon being the most hilarious blind date ever in My Sweet Lobster.

That scene was Iconic. Dude was having too much fun. 😂

Honorable mention to the meta cameo of Vicenzo in QoT.

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2024 ROUND UP: DAY 12
tabong’s favorite mess.

The award goes to Perfect Family.

This drama was far from perfect but it definitely was a different and fun watch (until it wasn’t, I guess). I don’t think it’s even close to the messiest drama of the year either (I see ya Red Swan, DNA and Bad Memory), but of all the mess I watched, this is definitely my favorite one.

I enjoyed the fun thriller vibes while it lasted.
The story didn’t go where I wanted it to go, but I guess I did see the turn coming. And I’m not too annoyed by it.

I will always remember the brilliant soundtrack, the fun side characters (detectives), the cute friend group (when they were three), the villain I actually didn’t hate at the end (hopefully she’s not stabbing people anymore), and the sweet family by choice that could’ve saved itself many problems with better communication (like parents, like daughter I guess).

So yeah, I enjoyed this little mess.
I hope to see the director again in the future (with a better script).

Honorable mentions:
Let Free of the Taekwondo Curse
The Story of Park’s Marriage
Openly Dreaming of Cinderella

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Am I the only one who’s done with this week? Maybe it’s because of all my dramas airing on the weekend, but I feel like time’s going so slowly… Like, why is it still Wednesday? Oh my cat.

#EvenTheNiceFoodComesNextWeek
#WhenAreWeGettingShowsForTheWeekdays

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2024 ROUND UP: DAY 11
Funniest episode.

I think I laughed a lot this year. Some dramas, even if they weren’t my favorites, had their good laugh out loud moments (even tho sometimes it wasn’t intentionally).

But there is a particular episode that I will never forget. Seoul Busters‘s episode 16 was pure gold.
The Dongbang MZ gang operation was the most hilarious part of a very funny show. I could watch that episode in a loop.

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2024 ROUND UP: DAY 10
The real villain.

2024’s kdrama writers.

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    🤣 so true. I wonder if its the schedulers too as 8-12 episode dramas would be better for the writers but they are told they need to fill an 8 week slot.

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      I don’t think so. We know writers can write proper stories and develop their characters in 16 (and even 20) episodes shows since kdramas have always done that. We can go back to all the old favorites for confirmation (without including sakegus or weekenders I guess). Beyond Evil (2021) was the most satisfying watch of my year, and it’s a 16 episodes drama.

      For me the problem is that writers are doing waaaaaaay less, with almost the same amount of time. But even with the 12/8 EP trend, there have been disastrous results. This year definitely proved that the problem is not the episode count.

      I think people only care about the time because it’s obviously a waste of it for us as viewers. You don’t want something bad to last forever. If the writers did their job, no one would say much.
      I mean, I don’t hear complains about Misaeng being 20 episodes or Reply having almost 2h long episodes. Both are in the highest rated kdramas despite the length.

      Summary, if you haven’t noticed, I’m a 16-EP defender 🤣 (because I am not as extreme as to want to go back to the 24-EP era). I like having multiple characters and couples with proper development, and I feel like 12 episodes can’t do it (Like Flowers in Sand for ex. Loved the show, but I think it needed more time for the other characters).

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2024 ROUND UP: DAY 9
Favorite nature PPL.

My favorite “stylish” show this year is an American drama, so I went to check my kdrama screenshots and noticed that from the bunch of “nature pics” in my phone, many of them are from Queen of Tears.

I think this was a great year for nature in kdramaland.
We got a lot of blue-sea with shows like Sam Dal-ri, Like Flowers, WW and Dog Knows.
We got a lot of cherry-pink in What Comes After Love.
And we also got a lot of tree-green with dramas like Virtuous Business and Sweet Lobster.

Queen of Tears played with everything, from the orange-sunset to the grass-green, and the violet-flowers.
And I also think this drama had style in other areas too. From Eun-delulu’s mama’s outfits to Hae In’s pretty crying. 😆 Not joking, these characters always looked good, and the show did too. I remember how I thought this was a fantasy show in the first couple episodes given the “dreamy” vibe the drama had.
QoT is a very nice experience for the eyes.


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2024 ROUND UP: DAY 8
Favorite childhood connection.

Like Flowers in Sand.

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2024 ROUND UP: DAY 7
The OST tabong’s obsessed with:

Tell Me That You Love Me‘s. No contest. No explanation needed either. Go listen it. It speaks for itself. Or just go watch the show. The songs are even better in context! 😆

TMTYLM is a story about listening, communication; and its soundtrack truly reflects that. There wasn’t one song out of place. They all expressed what the show and characters were trying to say and in a beautiful way.
I would say the tracks carry the same tone and sentiment of the drama. I feel like they wrote these songs using the drama’s color palette, if that makes sense.

Anyway, I have the feeling that Try Not to Cry may be mentioned in other posts today, so I’ll just leave 잠 (Just because it’s you) by Mingginyu. A perfect song for the end of the day. I love how soft and calming it is.

Honorable mention to Perfect Family‘s score. It was probably the only perfect thing about the show. From beginning to end the music was impeccable.

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2024 ROUND UP: DAY 6
This was definitely a case of misscasting

All those random foreigners playing Americans.

You know like the bullies from Love Next Door who laughed about the FL having cancer, saying it happened because she was \”too Korean\” (the writing does NOT help them).

I feel like the PD was just passing by near Itaewon or something and saw a group of foreigns and asked them if they wanted to appear in a kdrama, and they replied \”yes\”, because who wouldn\’t.

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    You are right – the casting, but even more the script – of Westerners saying Westy things, and also some Koreans playing Westerners and saying in a flat voice that makes one word hard to distinguish from the other “oh-but-[insert korean name]-I-love -you-why-don’t-we-just-do-it-on-the-floor-now-in-front-of-everybody”.
    Love Next Door was special in that her grown-up-in-the-USA boyfriend played well and actually wasn’t the promiscuous A*hole we at first were led to believe he was. At all, actually.
    But his colleagues obviously were.

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      This script, yes.
      I think Seoul Busters had the least cringeworthy scenes with foreigners this year, and it was because the director and the writer did their job.

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    I hate how foreinger actors speak English in dramas, like they speak really bad, but I heard this is what they are asked to do so Koreans can understand them better. It’s as cringey as when Korean speak English.

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      Wait what? I assumed they would hire the actors regardless of how fluent they are in English. But they actually make them speak like that? When subtitles exist? It’s not like all Koreans will automatically understand English, anyway?
      Especially when sometimes they use the most random words in English they could find…

      So many questions.

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2024 ROUND UP: DAY 5: PART 2

Okay, so Tae Seong stole the whole show, no, he WAS the whole show for me. But when it comes to the scene stealer of the year, I say the prize goes to:

The umbrella from I Openly Dream of Cinderella.
Every time that thing appeared on the screen I would laugh so hard. The portrait… 😂😂 I cannot.

Impossible to focus on anyone or anything with that freaking umbrella on the same frame.

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2024 ROUND UP: DAY 5: PART 1
2024\’s Veronica Park

Tae Seong from Carry Sung Jae and Run.

While Sol was busy carrying Sung Jae and running in circles, and pretty much destroying every single version of her life; Tae Seong was busy growing as a person, and actually living life.

He\’s the only character in the drama who had a beginning, an ending, and something in the middle that made sense.
I love how he went from the guy who dated Sol almost as a joke, to the respectful, understanding and helpful friend he became at the end.

I\’ll always see Sol as the girl running from nothing to nowhere, Sung Jae as a consolation prize and plot device, but Tae Seong I will remember as an actual character. A good one!

So yeah, he totally stole the drama, in my book. He is all I need to remember from this show… Plus the OST. I really liked 10CM\’s and Minnie\’s tracks. 🙈

Honorable mentions:
The deerlings & Cat Boss from My Sweet Lobster.
Soo Cheol & Beom Ja from Queen of Tears.



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2024 ROUND UP: DAY 4
2024 crush.

Oh, Hye Jin again.

While watching Hagwon I thought of changing my profile pic to her photo with the big smile I posted on day 2 of the round up.
To make it clear, I never think of changing my profile pic. But Jung Ryeo Won made this character so lovable and charming, I wanted to have a reminder of her. She truly gave a brilliant performance (with the help of thoughtful writing), that just made it impossible for me to not love Hye Jin.

Thank you, Jung Ryeo Won. ☺️

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    I love her too, Hyejin and Ryeowon.

    Now, to the profile picture, I’ve always wanted to ask you about yours. By that tiny frame and with my not so good eyes, I see Nam Jihyun and Jisung, and I know it isn’t them 😂. Could you please give a hint? 😊

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      🤣 That’s a pairing I never imagined.

      It’s Seo In Guk! The pic is from Shopping Wang Louie. ☺️

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        Thanks for the info. So I’m half correct 😂 That show has been on my to-be-watched list for forever.

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          Happens. I have many shows of this year that I’m supposed to watch or finish but I know they’ll rot waiting for me for like a decade or so. 😂

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            T, I enjoyed Darkness in Hagwon though your posts, particularly your hashtags. 😂👍🏻

            Your round ups are encouraging me to give it a try.

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          Perhaps we need a Community Watch for it. 😂 Wang Louie is the best-est King ever. You’ll forget all about any Seja Jeoha and will only drink Maxim coffee after that. 🤣🤣🤣

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            Maxim coffee was a character itself. LOL
            And I’m all in if you guys do a SKL community watch.

            PS. Give Dark Hagwon a try Cera! It’s a really nice show.

            Wait, what happened to your name? 😲 Should I call you Seeker? Which one do you prefer?

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            I’m Cera of course, just that the username is Seeker because Cera was already registered. 😂

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            Okey dokey. I just got confused for a sec since the “Cera” disappeared. 😅

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            Guess most regulars would know me by now and I don’t want to unnecessarily confuse new Beanies. Since there already exists a username “Cera” I cannot change it to that. So thought I’d just keep it simple. 🤷‍♀️

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            Also just like Claire on whose behalf many notifications get sent to the Beanie with the username Healer. Notifications for me were sent to the Beanie with the username Cera. 🤷‍♀️

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            That’s very thoughtful!
            I’m the only tabong so no one else gets my notifications, but sometimes I don’t get them either! Since @tabong doesn’t exist. 😂 I see the replies anyway (usually) .

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            💯 you are uri only tabong. 👍🏻🥰

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    Comment was deleted

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    Your posts are very encouraging. I started this show, but the scene where she “haggles” with the school teacher put me off so much that I stopped. As a former teacher her arguing was so childish that I lost all patience.
    What you wrote about her growth encouraged me to continue.

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2024 ROUND UP: DAY 3
Favorite ML.
I already mentioned how much I love Baek Du from LFiS, but I think he\’s just my favorite main character of the year. I can\’t put him in the same category as the other male leads since this year was very meh/bad in that deparment for me.

In that sense, there is a short list of MLs I liked/didn\’t hate, but the few ones who truly felt like real people with a story to tell were Hae Jo (Mr. Plankton), and Yeong (Love in the Big City).

So, that makes Hae Jo my favorite ML of the year.

Maybe because I\’m a bit like this guy (just like him, most people around me don\’t know how to react to my sense of humor #SorryMom), I felt comfortable with him quickly and got curious about his story.

The way he talks as if nothing was a big deal or as if he didn\’t care is very relatable. Half of the time, yeah, I don\’t care; but the other half I\’m just trying not to. And I can see that in him too. Which totally broke my heart, because it was obvious that he was trying too hard. His past and present were a mess, and you could see it reflected in his big-flirty-smile.

Smiles and jokes to not get his hopes up, and hide his disappointment or fear.
The cool thing is that, as the show progresses, you don\’t see either of them disappearing, but they do feel different.

The journey makes him more honest, grateful and brave. So his jokes and smiles aren\’t all pretend anymore.

He was grateful and appreciated the family that he found on the way. And he was brave to try and fix things with the family that he broke.
And, even if I wouldn\’t have done the same, I\’m also glad he was honest with himself and went to look for the family that hurt him, and forgave them. Because that\’s what he wanted and needed to find closure. And I\’m happy he found it.


Honorable mention
Yeong from Love in the Big City
Tae Pyeong from Romance in the House/FamilyXMelo
Ji Wook from No Love No Gain
Ki Baek from Frankly Speaking
The boys from the squad from Seoul Busters

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2024 ROUND UP: DAY 2
Favorite FL.

There are many female leads I liked this year, but Hye Jin from Graduation aka. It\’s Always Dark in Hagwon takes the first place. I love how she was a little manipulative and controlling, and always thought she was right, but that never made her a bad person. She was also thoughtful and caring, and had a big sense of responsibility.
Even if she thought she was always right, when she figured that she wasn\’t, she would fix it. She would accept it and fix it. She made mistakes, but learned from them. That\’s freaking cool in my book.

I just loved her journey. A woman trying to become a better version of herself. A better teacher, a better person, a better Hye Jin. She wanted to be better to others, but especially to herself. She lost herself in the way to success, and didn\’t get to live like everyone else. So I\’m glad that at the end she got to love and be loved, and she put herself first and did what she always wanted.

Anyway, I love her.

Honorable mentions:
Hae Young from No Love No Gain.
Mi Rae from Romance in the House/FamilyXMelo
Mo Eum from Tell Me That You Love Me.

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