y ishida

I think based on this episode I can tell that Kiyoi seems like a very insecure person. He tries really hard but doesn't want anyone to know. He makes friends with many people but doesn't actually like them or enjoy being with them. It's clear as day he prefers spending time with Hira even if Hira is a little creepy to him(Sorry y'all but I still agree with Kiyoi on this one. Hira is a little weird/creepy /gross or whatever the Japanese word is translated in to)

I honestly find Kiyoi very relatable. I also had that period in my life when I was insecure and wanted to just "look cool" in front of others . I can understand Kiyoi's ptoblems really well.

Also this episode showed me a better view of their relationship. I think Kiyoi , despite not liking Hira's behaviour sometimes, is starting to like Hira. He clearly enjoys being around Hira. He invited his group of friends to Hira's house and ended up ignoring all of them and going to Hira's room to talk to him and later he even ditched them to go buy stuff with Hira. It's obvious to me that Kiyoi likes Hira or spending time with him but he is too insecure to do much above it because he wants to keep his "perfect king" image . In the end of the day both Hira and Kiyoi are super insecure and despite all of their differences, they share some similarities. Both of them are flawed characters who need to grow and I hope for it to happen.

Also I couldn't help but realise that Kiyoi didn't order Hira around for taking his photos. Some people love to pretend that Kiyoi only uses Hira for errands but to me it's very clear that
1_ He uses the errands as an excuse . He probably enjoys having a friend like Hira
2_ He takes Hira's comfort in to consideration even if he has to maintain his personal image with his classmates. He isn't just going to order Hira to take his picture , he was probably looking to see if Hira will offer . And Hira being Hira didn't say anything and Kiyoi didn't mention it again. He isn't also taking everything for granted. He pays for his own stuff and when they got in to trouble, he helped Hira despite Hira feeling guilty for getting him in to trouble. Hira has self confidence issues obviously but Kiyoi isn't using it against him specially when they are alone without Kiyoi's friends being around.

Next episode will probably be interesting since if I am jot mistaken and based on the preview, Kiyoi is going to get bullied. Honestly I find it weird that people take their "bullying issues " out for Kiyoi who has never hurt Hira (I'll repeat what I said about Hira, that dude is weird and I really want him to change for the better) but people never blame people who they should be blaming . Kiyoi's and Hira's claasmates/friends who are the real bullies. Those guys are typical teenage jerks. I really want to see not only Hira but also Kiyoi getting rid of them from their lives.

Despite the fact that I didn't like the first episode, the second episode is so much better. I still don't like Hira very much but I'm starting to understand Kiyoi a lot better . Also the comments here helped me understand their relationship better

Spoiler bellow

Finally someone said it. I was surprised when I didn't see anyone mention her.

Our CP/King isn't exactly a flawless mary sue. She is flawed in the sense that she is so scared of people finding out about her and her getting beheaded for treason(and possibly all of her loved ones dying with her) that she is willing to ruin another woman's life even if she feels bad for her and even if she knows how it feels like to have your life ruined and not having any choice in the matter. She is so scared that she will never try running away or faking her own death or even accepting death by revealing her secret. I think her mother is heavily responsible for how scared our CP/king has become.

I know it seems impossible but I am hoping to see all the 6 main leads to end up having a good ending after all the suffering.

His dad already suspected it either way . He even asked around about what he saw on her neck. He would've found out sooner or later since the bodyguard isn't even there anymore and Ji un's dad had to take his place. The only thing that made a difference was that instead of just finding out about her secret , he also ended up finding out about her and his son's "affection"

And if you want to blame someone you should probably blame them both not just Ji un

Haven't read the book but based on what I've heard , this is so much different from the source material that it's basically another story .

This is one of the reasons why I ended up liking this drama despite that fact that I normally don't like romantic Korean dramas. Or cross dressing dramas for that matter.

This is the first drama I've ever seen where the FL is actually the hero and the person who drives the plot , and the ML is basically the love interest. It's a lot more common when it's other way around. Male leads in these type of dramas usually either have a higher status in comparison to female leads or they are some sort of rebel which makes them able to actively get involved in the political matters. Female leads on the other hand are not always that much privileged. In some dramas and movies I've seen , female leads tend to be the love interest who is logically in no position to do much when it comes to stuff like politics.

In this drama , the FL is a crowned prince turned king. She is and must be , the center of political events and schemes and the main plot. On similar fashion , Hyun is also involved and can help.
Ji Un on the other hand has no position . He is nothing more than a physician and a royal tutor. He logically can't have much influence on the political side of the story even if he wants to. His position is the same position of some FL's I've seen out there.

Some people might find this boring but to me , it's actually quite refreshing. Ji un in my opinion is a very rare case. I don't think I've ever seen a ML in Ji Un's position. His naturally nice and extroverted personality is also something I find interesting in comparison to other ML's I've seen . While I don't think it's rare to have ML's with this personality , it's a lot more common to have ML's who are more introverted and not as nice as Ji Un.

I would also like to disagree with you on the useless part. Ji un may not be able to affect the political side of the story , but he does help as much as he can. He helps whenever there is a fight. He helps whenever Hwi needs to be saved or healed . He helps as best as he can. He is also the main character who brings a little bit of joy . His story line and conflict with his dad and Da im , his story of those guys he wanted to save really badly and his relationship with Hyun makes him more interesting to me. I know a lot of people might not like this and I respect it since it's a new way to present a male lead but to me personally it's a breath of fresh air and he is my favorite right next to Hwi. I didn't know I needed a ML like Ji un until this drama

oh well if he confesses/apologizes and doesn't do it again then I supposed it's fine. I was a bit worries because of this episode and also the summary of the story("But his faith in the absolute monarch gradually falls into lust") but if it's not going to continue like that then I guess it's fine. I still don't like Hira though unfortunately, but I'm willing to give it a go. Thanks for answering.

I literally made an account just to ask this from those of you who have read the novel. Will Hira ever gets called out for being a stalker or have some sort of consequence? I don't know about you guys but I find his actions (stalking + taking unwanted pictures + Jerking off to the picture??? I'm not sure if he did that in the last scene though ) far worse than whatever Kiyoi has done in this episode( he called him creepy I guess ? and told him to buy him things which he didn't refuse ) so I really would like to see some sort of consequence for Hira as minor as it could be.

I usually don't mind when I see a show about unhealthy characters and relationships but stalking is not something that I can tolerate mainly because of my personal experience so it would help me a lot if someone who has read the novels can spoil it for me. Thanks in advance