Ahjummai

SY on XQ
SY with others - defend XQ
SY only with XQ - douse her with ice cold water truth how they can't be

XQ on SY
XQ with others - shrink back and not stir up trouble
XQ only with SY - be the most charming and flirty version of self

For those lucky enough to have very good supportive families and can't understand... many things are going through XQ's mind in that moment that causes her to freeze. (1) They are in public and should not cause trouble (2) she knows brother and sy are ready to fight it out if it escalates (3) she'll be in trouble with mom if sy hits brother and it will mess up her plan to make family accept sy (4) other firefighter has zero idea what's going on (5) etc

We've seen XQ put MYC in his place before, but in private. But in the presence of other people, it's not out of character for her to freeze up and get triggered an anxiety attack at that moment.

SY really needs to stop treating her like he needs to put a bubble around her to keep her from breaking. That's my frustration with SY. Be there, be her support, but she's not a porcelain doll. Give her the capacity to make her own decisions with all information in front of her.

I think not QX thinks:
Plan 1: Be bestest daughter who can do no wrong so family can accept who I love
Plan 2: Have enough financial security to cover (now and into the future) the luxurious lifestyle I'm used to in case I do get disowned
Plan 3: Just continue walking on eggshells and not cause trouble until I have had enough and decide to end my pitiful life

You need to see it from her pov.
She doesn't know what happened in his life in the past 10 years. Never saw his letters, never saw his note on the window, never knew her family actively did something bad to hurt him. She has zero knowledge of all of what we audience knows. That's why the writers had XQ ask both brother and mom if she got letters when she was abroad.

In XQ's mind, her family is against their relationship because of social status alone. "We're rich, he's poor; You can't be together." So all this time, she thinks that if she gets to achieve something big on her own then she can earn her family's bestest daughter who can do no wrong award and be allowed to love whoever she wants. Childish? Immature? Yeah. But it's a realistic portrayal of someone with a life like hers.

Unfortunately, SY thinks that not letting her know things is good for her so that she won't get hurt. (Recipe for misunderstanding tsk) Also, he's not devastated or having fear of abandonment just because she broke up with him. A whole lot of other things happened that's why he wants her to be 101% for him and not mind her family.

pacing = storytelling
it's how the writer and director want to tell the story

pacing = storytelling
it's how the writer and director want to tell the story

he is. in the novel, he explains how she's the first person that needed him and how much that affected him.
they are both flawed and broken inside.

he is. in the novel, he explains how she's the first person that needed him and how much that affected him.
they are both flawed and broken inside.

coz novels can explain the characters and what's going on in their heads, but dramas can't unless you want them to go into monologues all the time.

also novel has a lot of jump and sudden parts of their history with no transitions. drama can't just do that.

People have gotten so used to Tsundere ML that SY being hot and cold is so acceptable while they can immediately throw FL under a bus. Disappointed.

This type of storytelling is probably not for you.

She's trying to get close to him, but all the time he tells her he's not really interested. Others can see it, but how can she trust him when one moment he's nice then next he's pushing her away?
He's as wishy-washy as she is.

I don't get why people don't see this. Yeah, those around SY can see his love. But he keeps pushing her away and giving an ultimatum.

No, that part is important. For him to tell her that he's okay with no guarantees. That she can go to him without doing a free fall. That's he's okay with small steps that she can make.

I agree with you. People want only XQ to take that decision to lose everything for love.

But SY (even though we know he loves her) isn't telling her everything and honestly keeps that wall separating them up. She's trying to win him over, but he directly tells her "i may get over you". What he wants is for her to promise him everything without really knowing everything, but she's not impractical. How can you ask someone to just give everything up for someone who's been hot-and-cold with her? It's also not fair.

Do they love each other? Definitely. Is she hesitating a lot? Yes. But SY can't keep giving her an all-or-nothing ultimatum.

As for the "trash" comment, I think people are unaware how "don't rock the boat esp in public" is something that runs deep in Asia. And moreso for someone who was "trained" to behave properly as kid. (This is also why in the novel, even after finding out about what her mom did, XQ did not tell SY that she knows. If he doesn't want her to know, she will not talk about it.) It may be frustrating, but can people stop trying to make her behave as if she's from another culture that celebrates individuality and independence?)

Fan Meeting in the Philippines!!! in AUGUST 2023
https://twitter.com/Viu_PH/status/1678720893646962691

it's marked as a viu original. so those with viu, that's where to watch it
https://twitter.com/Viu_PH/status/1678622644822835201

what low points on viu? it's on the top trends of viu.

Agreeing to disagree is fine. But there's such a thing as calling out certain behaviors when it needs to be called out.
For example:
not loving FL? ok.
not liking FL? ok.
not understanding FL to the point of dragging her character and telling her to leave ML alone and be miserable? that's lacking of empathy.

we all see the signs of her poor mental health. yes, broken people are not always likeable and can often show toxic behaviors. but to simply consider them unredeemable and unworthy, i think that's just being more toxic than the fictional character they complain about.

so i skimmed thru the novel to look at hot steamy it is based on what folks here have been saying. and there's a part there where she said she wishes her eyes were expressive.
so it's not WCR being a bad actress and not having expressive eyes. the character is written like that. I think WCR is doing a good job with the character she's portraying tho. And I think there's enough push and pull chemistry happening between YY and WCR as needed.