Liltsu

True I’m so curious as to how they’ll explain that, and of course, i’m happy if Bogeol truly is Kiho as that does make for an interesting twist and that would make me invested to know more, but i’m just worried they wouldn’t be able to justify everything that has occurred so far if he is indeed him (esp as he clearly seems to have his memories intact). I replied to the first person who replied if you wanted to hear more of my perspective, if not, thank you for taking the time to read my first comment and replying :D

hi! thanks for your response, I made a long reply to the first person who wrote back, but I responded whilst also countering/adding on to your points in mind (i refer to them and answer them with my own thoughts throughout), in case you were interested in reading <3 thank you for taking the time to write it out :)

Thank you for writing down your thoughts so concisely and responding to my arguments! I found a lot of your statements quite convincing, that it did make me reconsider my arguments. Especially as previous observations I have made of Bogeol potentially being Kiho, which seemed less telling than the ones I had for Woohak being Kiho , now definitely hold more weight in my judgement.

However, there were also quite a few aspects in your counter arguments that I didn’t really agree with, so I’d like to touch on those to reinforce my belief as to why Woohak might still be Kiho over Bogeol.

I might also have phrased it misleadingly, but the monetary aspect I bring up that would link Woohak and Kiho, is more so linked to a narrative (and metaphorical) point of view than it is of the literal function of money. Kiho was anxious about money because he indeed needed it to run away. Let’s assume Woohak is in fact Kiho. He has lost his memories and is now part of a wealthy family, and has a stable job from which he gets a high income. Still, his ‘gag’ is his concern and amusing focus on money.

Narratively speaking, this could represent how Woohak as Kiho is still money-conscious, because although he has lost his memories, there is still perhaps an underlying anxiety or association he makes of himself to money. Perhaps I am also influenced by other works that do this. For instance, if you’ve seen One Piece, there is a character named Nami whose village was terrorised by pirates who end up killing her mother. She ends up making a deal with said pirates that if she is able to get a certain amount of money, she can buy the village’s freedom. Money is narratively shown to traumatise Nami, as money comes to represent a means of survival, entrapment and of ultimately, the end goal to freedom. Much later in the story, once she is freed, money is no longer a concern, but it actually becomes a ‘gag’ that she is obsessed with money, even though money is quite literally not a necessity for her anymore (she becomes a pirate herself). Still, thematically, money is allegorical of Nami’s freedom from her past. I believe, if Woohak is Kiho, that a similar arc has been narratively built. So these details can be a reflection of that.


Next, Woohak’s knowledge of the law could indeed very well be due to him being a reporter, but once again, it is an understated link you could make to the father. It wasn’t a point that was particularly emphasised as a way to connect him to Kiho either unlike other moments like when Mokha tells us he reminds her of him (so the law aspect is likely not a tool that the writer uses to trick us into convincing us it’s him), and yet that detail is still there. But true, that could very well still be a misleading factor that ends up simply being explained by his profession.

Regarding Woohak’s reaction to seeing Mokha for the first time, I am also of the opinion that he is quite indifferent to her the same way that Bogeol is, but my argument is that that is precisely why Woohak is more likely to be Kiho. Woohak’s memory is lacking, so his indifference makes sense. Bogeol’s doesn’t. And we do see Bogeol’s reaction to seeing Mokha for the first time: he sees Woohak hug her. You could argue that, at that point, Bogeol still hasn’t made the connection to her identity yet, and i agree. Only, despite the cut to the boat, Bogeol is way too calm, and continues to not only be calm, but irritated by Mokha down the line, and even that annoyance is in relation to his brother. In fact, a lot of Bogeol’s attention is centred around his brother and NOT Mokha. Such as when they’re on the boat. If Bogeol was truly Kiho, and was trying to conceal that for some reason or the other, he’d at least be looking at her silently, or we wouldn’t see much of him. Yet we do see him, and what we DO see is how he nonchalantly (not angrily, nor shakily) tells Woohak to stop recording her. Kiho gave up so much for Mokha and his encounter of her was life-changing. The experience of realising that someone, who meant so much to you, actually survived would show, even involuntarily, through body language: awe, distress, disbelief, immense joy, fascination, heartbreak, yearning. Bogeol displays none of that, and there would be little to support his underwhelming reaction later, given they once again found Mokha by accident. Meanwhile, Woohak’s reaction doesn’t matter at all, truly: whether he is fascinated by Mokha for whatever reason, or somewhat disinterested and distant (as he was in some ways at the beginning), it can all be justified by his memory loss.
To me, Woohak’s kindness to Mokha is both indeed kindness and his desire to find out his true identity (even if that is not being “Kiho”), so I agree that it is not evidence of him being Kiho, but then the above only goes to show why Bogeol is even more unlikely to be him.

Another huge factor is this: Bogeol does not stop Woohak from reporting on Mokha being found. Neither is he particularly fazed when he finds out that Woohak ended up still reporting on it despite telling him not to. IF Bogeol was Kiho, he would know that by Woohak reporting on Mokha’s survival, it would give the father a clue as to how to find the real Kiho, because he would know that the father is aware of their relationship. In fact, if Bogeol was indeed Kiho, he would know how Kiho and Mokha are connected. Except he doesn’t. We know that Woohak tells him of the connection between Kiho and Mokha, and that still doesn’t set an alarm in Bogeol’s head about Woohak having publiscised her re-appearance. And that is because, precisely because he is not Kiho, he may not know that the father is aware of the connection between the two. Bogeol has been shown to be very protective of Woohak by staying firm in not revealing his identity to him. Regardless of who Kiho is, the father finding out information on Kiho would endanger both Bogeol and Woohak. And Bogeol, if he were Kiho, would also be aware that his father might not be able to physically recognise the real Kiho, so any guy floating around Mokha could be in danger (Woohak in this scenario). Bogeol would never risk that. So that would be a plot hole.

Regarding the technological aspect, it’s fair enough that the two brothers are indeed into technology, from which particular elements could be associated to Kiho. Only, Bogeol is a music producer, so he’d be more in charge of the recordings of the artists and recruitment. It’s not certain, and rather unlikely from what we’ve been shown of the scope of his professional life, that he would be dealing with video editing. So his potential identity as Kiho would more so be within the rationale that he’d become a music producer to know about other artists, and keep an eye on whether Mokha would have become an artist herself if she survived. Woohak on the other hand is a reporter, but he films footage himself the way that Kiho would, and it’s also implied that he therefore edited the final product of him documenting on Mokha. If he is Kiho, this makes for a pretty visceral parallel to when he filmed and editing Mokha in the past.

I saw someone else comment that you could explain that Woohak copies a lot of what Bogeol does, and that that’s why Mokha said Woohak reminded her of Kiho (even just from the perspective of style, mannerisms or hobbies), but I’d like to point out that what lead Mokha to make that comparison is that Woohak kept on asking Mokha: “and then?”, regarding her future plans, to which Mokha shares her thoughts on how she strives to live in the present moment. Firstly, there’s an immediate striking resemblance to the scene in which Kiho kept on asking “and then?” To Mokha from the past, when she was about to sing to him for the first time.

-> From this, we can psychologically point out that both Woohak and Kiho have a conscious/subconscious anxiety about the future. Woohak may have lost his conscious memories of the past, but one’s worries (which are, in psychoanalysis, tied to the deep part of the psyche regardless of if you retain memories of a particular trigger or not) are unique to one individual. One can hardly excuse that as another moment in which Woohak copies his brother, especially as it is actually a point of distinction between the two: Bogeol tells Woohak to forget his past, and live in the present moment. Whereas Woohak doesn’t want to, and is persistently thinking about his own past and future, which links back to how Woohak’s concerns is projected through his question to Mokha (similarly to how Kiho in the past projected onto Mokha).

It was ultimately when Woohak comments on Mokha by using the word “lack” that is the final trigger (but in continuity to the previous dialogue) that made Mokha feel like Woohak reminded her of Kiho. So partially and dominantly, it is language (which is deeply linked to the subconscious) the catalyst to the comparison, and as I mentioned, they are independent from Bogeol entirely.


Finally, if Bogeol is indeed Kiho, there are bigger loopholes to the story than there are if Woohak was Kiho:

-if Bogeol is Kiho, then it’s going to be hard to make us believe that the family has two brothers with one brother who has amnesia for a large part of his life and changed his identity/name(Woohak) and the other that just happens to have also changed his identity into a secret one. If Bogeol is Kiho, there is no other figure in the story that would explain Woohak’s need for a change of identity. The father is the sole perpetrator left, yet it’s not even a dispute that Woohak’s name is indeed not his real one. The father clearly does not know how how to even find Kiho prior to Mokha’s re-appearance, so changing both of their identities is not necessary. And even if we assume that pre-divorce, the father also assaulted Woohak as his ‘other son’, to explain why Bogeol would feel the need to have Woohak change his identity, then surely the father would be looking for the both of them, but he isn’t.

Narratively, if Woohak had simply had some kind of amnesiac incident, that could be grounds for why he does not know Bogeol’s ‘true’ identity as Kiho, and that would explain why they wrote his character in that way. Only, that solely works if Woohak is his true name/identity. Only, it’s not even a debate that Woohak is a false name, otherwise Bogeol would be insisting on that, but instead, we come into the story, already understanding that there is a mutual awareness between Bogeol and Woohak that the latter actually has a different identity. So Woohak being Kiho would make more sense. If Bogeol is Kiho, then who is Woohak? There is no one else in the story that has been covered. Moreover, when Kiho’s old friend finds out the father is going to use Mokha to find Kiho, their immediate reaction is to try and reach out to Mokha, and not Kiho. Meaning they’ve lost contact with him or don’t know who he goes by anymore, which again, makes more sense if Woohak is in fact Kiho. But if Bogeol is Kiho, and remembers everything, then having his old friends (who are good-intentioned) as contacts would actually be a clever way to have hold on his father’s mode of investigation and next steps. If he is Kiho, he is being far too careless.

So once again, there are quite a few significant loopholes at the moment. Now let’s consider the opposite perspective: the potential loopholes of the story at present, if Woohak is indeed Kiho. Why did Bogeol react to Mokha singing in the way he did and why did he have to cover up his face in front of the father when he saved Mokha? Whilst they could end up still being loopholes, at least these aspects can be explained more believably than the loopholes at present for the theory of Bogeol being Kiho. Here are some logical assumptions we can make:

1. Bogeol covers his face (in the case where he is not Kiho), because, if the father recognises him and investigates him (as he is a policeman, and Bogeol is probably aware of how much knowledge he has), then it could lead to the father figuring out that Woohak is Kiho. That would endanger Woohak/Kiho, and as we know, Bogeol is doing everything he can to prevent that. Speaking of which, Bogeol doesn’t show fear toward the father compared to Woohak, once again, Bogeol takes on the role of a protector -> both of Mokha and especially Woohak, rather than the one at fear of being brutalised by “his” father.

2. He reacts to Mokha singing because he realises that she was the one that sang in the stead of Ran Joo, so him recruiting Ran Joo on the show puts him in a very wobbly position. That and he could be enamoured by her when he was previously annoyed by her being an “inconvenience” to Woohak (he really seems to see her as a mere threat to Woohak’s safety, I think that is one of the most telling aspects that he is not Kiho.)

What do you think? Sorry for the long rant, I just wanted to open more discussion around the topic and hear whether you agree/disagree with my added points.

Why i've thought Kiho is Woohak and not Bogeol since the beginning:

1. Kiho has been shown to be really drawn to technology and means of recording (and documenting) the abuse he's faced as a form of escape (and perhaps dissociation even). He had the newest phone for the time, a digital camera (literally recording the domestic violence he experienced), printed photos of his bruises, had books on editing and computers to edit videos so well, that his friend had bragged that they made his grandmother look like a celebrity.

-> Similarly, Woonhak's relationship to technology is made very apparent: Woonhak finds Mokha with a literal DRONE, and he is a professional reporter (someone who documents on other people's lives).

2. Woonhak and Kiho's focus on money. Both express a fixation on prices. Such as when the drone gets caught by Mokha, Woonhak is more concerned about the damage to the drone because it is costly than in Mokha (even as a joke). And this aspect is accentuated frequently in the series. In comparison, Kiho's first introduction is cemented around the understanding that he is seemingly "stingy", when he demanded 1000 won for his phone to be used by Mokha. The same way that the figure of Yoon RanJoo in Mokha's life seems like a superficial interest of hers at first, Kiho's interest in money, causing him to appear 'stingy", is actually a symbol of freedom (Mokha -> fame = difficult to interact with = untouchable. Kiho/Woonhak -> money = monetary means to flee anywhere = untouchable)


2. Woonhak knows a lot about the law as we see when he confronts the restaurant owners who were spouting lies to Mokha. Kiho's dad was a cop. It wouldnt be strange of Woonhak, if he truly is Kiho, would know the law in and out, given his attempts to escape his father at all costs (he would have to be aware of the ways in which the police use law abiding methods to deal with run away kids). Not to mention how law works on domestically abused teens.

3. Woonhak lost his memory AND Mokha instinctually is reminded of Kiho in his presence, when she didnt when she was with Bogeol. The coincidence of Woonhak losing his memories, whilst Bogeol continuously refuses to reveal Woonhak's true identity is too on the nose. Especially with the likeness that Mokha recognised. Let's say Bogeol really is Kiho, then the series would seriously need to find ways to justify the correlations above in a believable manner, which seems rather far-fetched given the info we have.

4. Bogeol was not that surprised in seeing Mokha. Unlike Woonhak who quite genuinely lost all his memories from his time with Mokha, Bogeol hasnt. And he seems all too composed and even indifferent in their first encounters, as though she were a stranger. Sure, Kiho was quite poker-faced when they first met, but given what occurred later, he was powerfully affected by her disappearance. He wouldn't be so calm at the sight of finding the one person who understood his pain, whom he could have died for, for whom he hoped to find again so desperately. Not to mention that we KNOW for certain that neither Woonhak or Bogeol (or anyone in the world for that matter) had a clue that Mokha survived and was on that island, so this is also not a case where Bogeol would have seen the news beforehand and then faked indifference upon their reunion. Both of them are there when they find Mokha and see her for the first time. (Also quite telling that Mokha hugs Woonhak instead of Bogeol, which is usually a clue by the producers, ofc it could seem too obvious but still).

Woonhak on the other hand has been quite affected by certain situations in which he has been with Mokha in: such as when hearing his name for the first time at Mokha's old restaurant/house, when seeing the post-it in Kiho's room, and now when he saw Kiho's dad (the flashbacks).


I also saw some people mention that they are certain Bogeol is Kiho because of the fact that he bought Mokha shoes. Only, from what little I know about korean culture, the significance of buying shoes to someone who is vulnerable, is actually quite common, and even a predictable formalith. Bogeol handing the shoes to Mokha is reminiscent to Mokha on what Kiho told her before they parted but only because they used to be what she needed in order to be symbolically rescued, but they HAPPEN to be what she needs when she is literally rescued 15 years later from a stranded island. The gesture doesn't mean anything other than being an act of kindness from Bogeol's pov. I watch social experiments from various countries and i would see clips of koreans locals helping the "actor" involved by buying the person cheap new shoes from the nearest shop if they saw that the person didnt have any, or who was struggling without some.

I just think Bogeol knows a lot and might have actually had some kind of interaction with Mokha or Ran Joo before (it is true, that it is suspicious of Ran Joo to have mentioned feeling like she had seen him before, but with the above mentioned, it's too unlikely).

What do you guys think?

I really like your observations and how you’ve phrased them so fittingly! Thank you for the insights ^^ I’d actually penned the protagonist as a cynic myself but your description of him as a nihilist makes so much more sense, especially given that i couldn’t quite put my finger on what it was that made him so unique in my eyes in his ‘cynicism’ (because other cynical characters that i know of felt like they had a different underlying foundation to their mentality, now i get why).

And i completely agree with the dry humor there. It’s amusing to see that the angel is more of an observer, only expressing himself (bluntly at that) when he feels the need to, but otherwise acts as a companion to the protagonist (much like a traditional guardian angel) without imposing any expectations on him.

Interestingly, in that sense, the protagonist and angel are both commentators in their own right in the narrative. The former in an almost dissociative way, as though looking at his own life from the angle of a passive omniscient narrator. The latter (the angel) doubling that but by actually being a third person witness to his life, ‘confirming’ the facts of Koki’s life. So the aspect of the ‘companion’, even at this early stage, already transcends the function of simply accompanying another through one’s presence, but actually connecting with the person (Koki) on this psychological, emotive level. As though understanding his soul’s language.

I think that’s why when the angel clarifies their thoughts and tells Koki “you are so kind”, it truly touches him, because until then, the angel’s commentary seemed to closely mirror Koki’s own inner voice, as well as the instilled ‘assumed’, inner voices of others (like his sarcastic reaction to the manager bleeding out, or even his assumption of what the angel was saying beforehand). Yet, when the angel rectifies what they meant, it broke through to Koki, as though piercing through that inner voice of his that interprets others’ words and thoughts from the most cynical/nihilist lens to avoid feeling hurt. I like the storytelling in this a lot as you can tell.

Not sure what you think?

Thank you for the recommendation, i didn’t know that about Koki’s actor at all, so that’s a pleasant surprise to say the least! I think i might check it out for myself.

Out of sheer anxiety for the next episode (i swear i fear mew's reaction to finding out more than my own life), i made this edit of Top and Mew:

https://www.tiktok.com/@bilily.bts/video/7277697297289350432?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=mobile&sender_web_id=7277699902795957792

Waiting for the next ep....

Thx!! <3

Indeed haha and yes i really view him from that lens :> nice to hear that others also had similar thoughts

Wow thank you for saying so, glad you liked it! ^^

Hear me out (a bit of analysis about Top’s character). I just thought about how, if i didnt get it wrong, Top and Sand are the only two characters that specifically have a “i don’t sleep with the same person twice” policy. In the same vein, Sand has a curious animosity toward Top which i don’t believe has been explained yet but is very explicitly shown to be present. Most notably with Sand throwing a middle finger directly toward Top in the latest episode. I was thinking about whether or not these could be small clues about the two of them having had a more serious relationship in the past.

On another note, I truly believe that Top has, regardless, wanted a genuine relationship with someone deep down, but does not inherently trust people. So he sleeps around instead, unable to form a more serious or well-developed bond.

I think this is going to be the key focus of Top’s character arc: his ability to trust (or rather his lack thereof, and how he overcomes this). This is why, from my perspective at least, Top is a character who actually sincerely appreciates the moments he spends with Mew, and the refreshing perspective Mew offers about their activities and interactions. Especially as their encounters are not purely reliant on sexual intimacy, but rather on an interest in the actual person they are with. Top, for the very first time in a long time I’m sure, has come to meet someone who is interested in ‘Top’ as the person, and not just for their body, and is honest about it (unlike Boston). Even more importantly, there is a person now who actually explicitly lays down their boundaries with Top, and let’s Top see that they are a three dimensional person with feelings, fears, hopes and intentions, and not an object of desire.

I also believe that Mew’s persistent reminders of his own boundaries also makes Top feel safe. They make Top feel safe because it makes him feel like he can more easily begin to trust and open up more (as we have already seen with him confiding in Mew about his inability to sleep alone AND the reason why: it’s evident that he has already started to become vulnerable with him). However, as we have seen in the latest episode, Top can just as easily revert, and become closed off, hesitant and distrusting, leading him to do impulsive actions.

This is exactly what happened in the last scene we saw: Boston fed into Top’s fear of betrayal and trust issues, by pushing onward the narrative that Mew and Ray have kissed and have something going on. Especially with Boston underlining the notion that Top is just being used and manipulated, suggesting that Mew is only playing with him to get Ray’s attention. It once more planted the seeds of distrust into Top’s heart, and he reverted into his previous state: having sex with someone else, basically fooling around whilst he is in a relationship. Not to mention that in this case, he also broke his policy of not sleeping with the same person twice (which VERY interestingly is what Sand’s character was ready to do with Ray as well in this same episode).

In my view, this breach of Top’s own policy reflects the way that Top seeks sex for three main reasons (not including sexual urges): firstly, in this case specifically, as a self-soothing mechanism. As Top is unable to form deeper bonds with others due to his lack of trust, sex is a way to fulfill that gap, even if momentarily. He has sex with Boston a second time here, both as a way to symbolise his regression, but also to showcase the sort of anxiety-filled response he had to the possibility of his very fragile trust he’d started to build for Mew crumbling (a big source of fear).

Secondly, Top seeks sex as a way to have an excuse to stay next to someone at night, which, as we know, helps him sleep. As such, sex is also symbolically a form of self-protection and self-care. It’s also proof perhaps that he has not been able to disclose his insomnia and traumatic past to others, again due to his lack of faith in people. Ironically, in that case, sex is a means to keep people away. Ever heard of, keep your friends close and your enemies closer?

Lastly, sex is a sort of test for Top. A way to test people (very fitting for someone who has difficulty placing trust in others). It’s striking to remember that it is on the night that Top and Mew were supposed to have their ‘one night-stand’ (from Top’s POV), their first sexual encounter, that Top grows interested in Mew. Why is that? Because, contrarily to Top’s expectations, Mew does not want to have sex after all, but instead offers him to have ice-cream and even allows him to sleep over, allowing cuddles but no more. This is, in Top’s own words, a first. It’s as if all his one night stands were tests to see if any person would show something, anything, that meant that it was not just sex. And Mew gifted him that warmth: letting him stay with him even though they had already kissed.

I think this is something that Top is not fully conscious of but is definitely, in terms of emotions, something that he is following whole-heartedly without ulterior motives. I just think that he is easily influenceable by the likes of Boston, because Boston actively feeds into his fears, causing Top to self-sabotage his flowering relationship with Mew. Top is also clearly not used to openly communicating his troubles with other people, so I think that he’ll suppress everything and not ask (because, deep down, he is more afraid of the truth he’s assumed to hear the actual truth).

Mew and Top’s relationship is ultimately dependent on whether Top will be willing to trust and communicate with Mew openly going forward, not doing things one-sidedly like going to Boston (a complete third party) for ‘evidence’ rather than ask Mew directly, or even afterwards. And whether Mew will be understanding enough once he learns the truth about Top’s recent actions. I also hope that Mew does not kiss or have sex with Ray or anyone else. I feel like it could be tempting for him to do so based on the trailers, probably when he will feel betrayed by Top. But if it does happen, I hope that it would at least be in a scenario where he has already broken up with Top. If not, their relationship will be very difficult to salvage because it means they’ll have both become people who are distrusting of others (Top even more so than before in such events).

So yh, sorry for the rant but I’d thought it’d be fun to theorise. Thanks to anyone who read this far if any. If you have tho, PLEASE share your opinions bc i am v curious. Okie bye

Ep 14 near the end

The moment when Wu Bi’s father thought aloud: “what does [Wu Bi] really want?”, and then it immediately transitioned to showing Wu Bi staring at Su Yu spoke volumes. It’s a classic film technique for a character to pose a question and then the next shot answers it. This is the series’ way of telling us what we’ve all wanted to know. It’s probably the most cinematographically elegant way they could have confirmed to us that Wu Bi wants Su Yu.

Happy ending hehe

And with the angst too like i can’t waitt

It’s called Addicted :) the episodes are on YouTube fully subbed

OUF this is long but here are my thoughts on the romance of the story in the last two episodes:

That last scene, when the three of them are finally confronted with each other and Wu Bi states all the lies Ye Wanying has been spouting in front of Su Yu, saved me from being in full agony for a whole week before we get the next episodes haha.

Honestly, these episodes were so good in solidifying the romance between the leads, especially because the events would hold little weight if the characters didnt hold blooming feelings for one another and growing jealous (I’m thinking particularly of the scene where Wu Bi is hurt to find Su Yu having slept in the same room as Ye Wanying, an instant heartache that would not make sense if he did not have feelings for Su Yu).

It was especially relieving and satisfying to see the last scene of the two recent eps because Wu Bi (and partially Su Yu) realised at that moment, that Ye Wanying had been untruthful, manipulating the situation to separate them. I was worried we’d have to go a week with both protagonists believing in the misunderstandings that had been caused.

The reason I say that Su Yu has partially realised is because, even if he has not understood yet that Ye Wanying has been orchestrating these lies (unlike Wu Bi who knows everything now, with the only exception being that he thinks Su Yu still has feelings for her), he has now witnessed Wu Bi declaring that Ye Wanying has been lying. Su Yu is an intelligent character, and all the more, he understands Wu Bi’s straight-forward personality: that he would not state the things he did if they were untrue. So, even though we saw that Su Yu is still unsure as to whether Wu Bi actually has feelings for Ye Wanying or not (and only because Wu Bi didn’t say anything when Su Yu directly asked, out of frustration), it has still planted the seeds of healthy doubt that we need for our leads to finally reunite.

I also really like that that the last episode truly asserted the fact that Su Yu is developing feelings for Wu Bi. I had been worried about that factor, because, to me, thus far, Wu Bi had seemed more obvious about his interest toward Su Yu. In fact, with the ambiguity beforehand of the romance, Wu Bi’s attitude toward Su Yu kept giving me hope that this would indeed be a romance and not bait. But I was still concerned about how they would portray Su Yu, because his attitude verged more toward that ambiguous aspect of ‘bromance’, which could muddle the relationship itself if his characterisation remained the same.

However, in this last episode, I love how it was strongly hinted at the fact that Su Yu was more bothered by the notion that Wu Bi could potentially have feelings for Ye Wanying rather than feeling jealous over Ye Wanying.


Four key points in the episode demonstrated this:

1.) First, when he looks at Ye Wanying on the bed, and contemplates on how his feelings are changing.

2.) When he sees Wu Bi and Ye Wanying at the cafe, and he desperately shouts : “but do you like her?!” amongst all the other things that were being said. Like, Wu Bi literally revealed that Ye Wanying was dating his cousin but that did not matter to Su Yu nearly as much as just the thought of Wu Bi of all people liking someone else. Instead of being troubled by the fact that the “girl he likes” is dating someone, he pleads to know whether Wu Bi has feelings for her. That is his priority. That’s what really bothers him. On the other hand, Ye Wanying has already become someone staying vaguely in the back of his mind.

3.) When Su Yu returns home and is thinking about Wu Bi only. After the conflict, Su Yu starts wondering if it could be true that Wu Bi might not actually like her, seeing that Wu Bi was revealing all sorts of new information that had previously mislead Su Yu, and yet, Su Yu still fears the possibility of Wu Bi actually liking her (given Su Yu did not get a response to his question in the end - Speaking of which, i genuinely believe that Wu Bi did not answer his question there, because he genuinely believed that Su Yu was getting so riled up because of his feelings for Ye Wanying, but I whole-heartedly think that Su Yu was so riled up because of his growing feelings for WuBi. Feelings that Su Yu himself still does not fully understand, therefore explaining why he was desperate and frustrated when he asked). Regardless, Su Yu’s focus remains on Wu Bi.

4.) The way Su Yu tries to find homework to complete to attempt to distract himself, but realises that he has completed it all. In turn, there is nothing to distract him, and he seems visibly restless because of it. It’s interesting to note that the scenes in which Su Yu does his homework throughout the series, slowly and steadily became an activity that he and Wu Bi would partake in together. In fact, those scenes are probably their most intimate downtown moments, when it could just be them two. I find it interesting for them to highlight this scene , because Su Yu seems like the kind of character that, when troubled, would always be able to put his mind off of things by doing homework or an activity of a similar nature, but now, is unable to keep Wu Bi out of his thoughts and that’s reflected by the inability to escape even through homework.

This was long and disorganised but thought I’d share. if anyone’s read any of this, thx sm for taking the time! How do you guys think the romance will develop going forward?

My thoughts exactly. I think it would be particularly meaningful if it did end up coming true, as there was no hint of a kiss (or even confirmation of a romance) in any of the trailers or other promotions (possibly to prevent getting undesired attention by the chinese gov, even if it isn’t airing there). So looking back it’ll look like reassurance from the producers that we are indeed watching a queer series, and it’ll feel like a victorious moment of progress, an alternative bypassing of censorship.

On the other hand, it would indeed be cruel bait on their part if they plan on keeping the relationship between the leads platonic (so therefore no kiss, unless accidental i suppose - but that obviously does not count). This would make their action completely unethical. Since, there’s a difference between making a series like this one without specifying the genre (which is not necessarily bait at all, and in fact can be very healthy to encourage interpretation). But to ask the question and not follow through, feels like a cheap trick to get people to watch, only to lead people astray, and disappoint.

I dont know if this series will be actual "bromance" or not, but some people are incorrectly using the word on here.

Bromance refers to bonds in series/films in which the two characters involved dont have any romantic feelings for each other and even have other love interests, it's just that the two are close friends and might be a bit touchy-feely with each other. A bromance is NOT when characters clearly have romantic feelings for each other but don't have an onscreen kiss/sex scene. People need to remember that romance can exist outside of those things.

For example, I've seen a lot of people label Word of Honor, Advance Bravely and The Untamed as "bromance" when they're not. Not only does the original source material canonically exist as "bl"/romance, the series themselves clearly imply, hint at, and develop their relationships even if in very subtle ways. These series/films need to be marketed as "bromance" to bypass censorship, but the producers/writers often try to be faithful to the original material and convey the actual romance that the story is. You can clearly tell when something is bromance like the one in Strong Girl Do Bong Soon and the "bromance" (STRONG QUOTATIONS) of Word of honor.

Remember, censorship is the main factor here, especially for how the characters can't explicitly call each other a couple or profess their love directly. But even without censorship, romantic relationships can exist without sex/kisses/skinship, again it’s the feelings of the characters and the intentions of the writer/director that are key in determining this. So, this series could very well be a bl series regardless of if it needs to abide by censorship or not, we just have to wait and see.

Sorry for the longer post, but I found it frustrating to always see the word being misused. Thank you to anyone who actually read this lol <3

I have few I’m getting through including a bl called Tokyo in April, a kdrama of the name King the Land, and another bl series of the name Be My Favorite :>

The eighth sense was interesting in the way that it both tackled queerness and mental health that are both still considered to be taboo in their respective country. I was particularly impressed by how natural the actors were, and contrary to popular opinion, I enjoyed the editing. The reason I was fond of the editing is that it sets a precedent for creativity for k-bls. It’s experimental, and plays around with the audience’s expectations. Not to say that it was flawless, I will admit that there were some aspects that could have been improved on. However, I loved the little but impactful details that the editing brought into the viewer’s experience, that I haven’t really seen other Korean BLs try, as they mostly try to stick to a very formal, clean format.

One example of what I liked in The eighth sense’s editing, was how in some scenes, they keep the camera on one character who is speaking, and in doing so, intentionally omitting the reaction of the character listening to what is being said. When this happens, the lack of insight into how exactly the other character is reacting or feeling (something which would normally deduce from their facial expressions) creates a stronger emotional reaction in the viewer. It’s a cool technique to convey the idea that what the character (who is not shown on the screen) is feeling is indescribable. I find it really unique and endearing.

Another aspect of the editing that I personally like, which everyone seems to detest, is how we cut from scene to scene immediately, which can feel very abrupt. To this, I say, I like that it is so abrupt, and I believe it is intentional. In fact, the abruptness to me reflects the emotional journey the characters are on. Especially from Jaewon’s point of view. It feels disruptive because Jaewon feels that it is: the scene where he and Jihyun making love being followed by the accident, is meant to show how from the characters’ point of view, the moment they reached a climax in their happiness and time together, it seems to immediately have come to a halt. Like Jaewon says, he feels that he ‘jumped the gun’ too soon. That’s why it’s intriguing that they decided to jump to a month later after the accident, starting off with a scene of the club members discussing the cancellation of their club, instead of showing the main characters. For Jaewon he probably felt so out of it, and so the time skip represents how this month for both jaewon and jihyun felt like it just went by, almost as if, consciously, they werent really there during that space of time, mentally.


Idk if you guys agree with me haha but just wanted to share my thoughts <3