FreshKicks

"A bud that took a decade to bloom" ... beautiful turn of phrase!

First, I know it can be annoying when people keep bringing up the book version of a series when talking about a series. Because I love the book version of MGAYG I realize I've been doing that a lot lately, but to answer your question properly I really do have to do it yet again ... Sorry! :)

So, why is Itt acting like he has a split personality, being affectionate with Pai as Mr. 950 while being a bully out in the open?

The short answer is that in the book, Itt is not a bully at all. Things between him and Pai are a little bit tense when they first meet up at university, but from there they end up hanging around with the same group of people, and as things thaw between them Itt actually says something to Pai along the lines of "Look, why don't we stop all the bickering and just try to get along?"

Pai agrees, and things between them ease a lot. Itt also starts to gradually insert himself into Pai's life in addition to flirting as Mr. 950. He and Pure start to eat at the Medical Faculty's cafeteria every day with Pai and Folk, and Itt is seen taking Pai around the university on his bike. Because Itt is famous on campus for being so athletic and handsome, photos of him and Pai together get posted online amidst all kinds of speculation.

There's a scene where Itt phones Pai from a bar when he's drunk (later on after he confesses he claims he was pretending) and begs Pai to come to pick him up. Pai reluctantly agrees and eventually gets Itt back to the dorm, only to discover that Itt has left his room key back in his car, which is still parked at the bar. So Itt has to stay the night in Pai's room. Once they're in bed to go to sleep Itt becomes a 'giant squid', with his hands and arms sticking to Pai until Pai finally stops resisting and allows Itt to cuddle with him.

The next morning Itt has a fever and Pai has him strip down to his underwear so Pai can rub his body with a cool towel. There's a mention of how ripped Itt's physique is, and of Pai stealing a look at Itt's bulge.

There's more, but you get the idea.

The series has created an issue for itself by making its version of Itt so relentlessly mean. I hope there's a moment after Itt confesses that Pai makes him explain himself.

One theory that's been brought up here is that it's all because Itt wants to increase Pai's self-confidence. I can see where that *might* be possible, since Pai thinks he's unattractive and not worthy of anyone else's love. Having him get selected as the university's moon (or 'king', as the series calls it) while having a mystery suitor flirt with him would be one way to do it. But the bullying part of Itt's strategy does not reflect well on him at all. Who would want someone like that as their boyfriend?

(Mr. 950 is indeed Itt....)

Mr. 950 is definitely Itt. The series does a lot of cute misdirection to make it look like Folk is 950, but room 950 also has meaning in the history between Pai and Itt.

Itt even explains to Pai why he chose that name for his secret identity -- it's so that Pai will know that Itt's feelings for him started as far back as when they were rivals in high school.

Getting such a detailed back story is fantastic, thank you! Really makes me feel bad because it sounds about as bad as it could be, and now I feel like my post was a little out of line.

Much appreciated!

You have to love the BL world, where almost every male inhabitant turns out to have a same-sex affinity.

Because now we are going to learn that the evil-doing of Tul (who is currently married and has a kid) has its roots in being abandoned by a boyfriend who left Tul after Tul got his wife pregnant.

And then it will turn out that Tul was so cruel to Tin because :

He hated Tin for being yet another person who left him ...

Or, he hated that Tin might be happy instead of miserable like Tul ...

Or, because Tul has so much self-hatred that he wanted to open a franchise and get other people to hate him too ...

But! Tin will bring the ex back into Tul's life and this will lead to the two brothers being reconciled at last. (Thank goodness the super-hot ex-bf turns out to be single at the moment. ;)

I generally dislike a last-minute redemption for an evil character but for some reason I'm not so mad about Tul getting one.

Not hating on the series! I just thought this plot development was cute.

Agreed! If they were to end up doing it like in the book it might turn out to be one of the most iconic confession scenes in BL.

I love both the book and the series, but I'm also a realist so I'm not getting my hopes up lol.

The book version of Pai is sassy and more confrontational. For some reason the series version is more passive. When this is combined with the fact that the series version of Itt is also *meaner* than the book version, the result is a chasm between the main leads that would seem really hard to bridge in a believable way.

For me it all hangs on how Itt finally confesses, or rather how the series depicts his confession. (The book version of the confession scene takes up two entire chapters, in which Itt makes it abundantly clear to Pai that he not only likes him now, but has liked him for a long, long time -- maybe since before they'd ever even spoken to each other in high school.)

The preview for next week's episode shows that Itt has pushed Pai to the point that Pai loses it, telling Itt that he hates him. While I'm pleased that Pai will show some spunk and self-respect and finally tell the guy where to stuff it, I think it puts a burden on the screenwriters to make it believable that their relationship could ever come back from that. Telling someone that you hate them is pretty heavy!

This one is almost complete and will soon have all of Book 1 and Book 2 uploaded. (There's only a handful of chapters still left to post. )

There's also a plan to go into the next book.

https://www.wattpad.com/story/241769501-my-gear-and-your-gown

No. Seventeen-year-olds have lips just like anyone else.

But as I think about it, the title of the series is "Like in the movies".

Out here in the world, when someone tells a story about being with someone they like and finishes by saying, "It was just like in the movies!", doesn't that always suggest that something really good happened?

Yes, movies can have sad endings, but that phrase is one that I've only ever heard used in a positive way.

I'm so glad I wasn't alone in reacting that way. I could have written every single word of your comment. Such a powerful scene, brilliantly scripted, directed, and acted. It might well become iconic.

I agree -- in that scene, Pure is being Itt's wing man. At other moments I've sensed that he knows what Itt is up to.

When Itt first shows up at the freshy orientation and Waan comments on the fact that Itt should be in Chiang Mai, Pure just has this 'knowing' way about him as he says that Itt changed his mind.

In the blindfold scene, as Pure walks along with Folk's hand on his shoulder I get the impression that he is showing some extra interest in Folk. I think Folk's single-minded pursuit of Pai is intriguing to him. But his #1 mission at the time is to make sure Pai's hand is available for Itt to hold.

'Yes' to everything you say here!

I think Itt was definitely awake when he held Pai's hand.

And, despite all the agony that Itt has put him through so far, Pai was still so happy about it. He just can't quit lovin' dat man.

Best has the best abs ...

Right! And Itt holding Pai's hand when they are walking to the wrist-binding ceremony with the seniors ...

Itt won't let go of Pai's hand even when Pai tries to shake him off .. like, Pai literally shakes his arm in an attempt to get free, and Itt won't let go.

Then, when the camera gives us a wide shot, we see that they're the only two people in that whole group who are still holding hands!

How can Pai go through all that and not ask Itt to explain himself?

If they were a real couple, no wonder their chemistry is so good. Plus, all of the scenes they do together, like the Episode 1 apology on the beach, would draw from that experience and gain all the more from it.

Not only happy, but all of their sins are forgotten and they're suddenly supposed to be sympathetic characters.

This, in the final episode, after 31 episodes of selfish, cruel, amoral behavior intended to hurt powerless people who've done nothing wrong to them.

I come back to clarify ...

There are at least three books in the series. Book 1 ends with the confession scene. The timeline for Book 2 is the 30 days after the confession scene. The 10-year time leap occurs in some quick chapters at the end of Book 2.

I've since learned that there's a Book 3 that covers the work life of the characters, starting after the 30 days of Book 2 ( and before the 10-year time leap.)

I hope this isn't too confusing. :)

You are guaranteed a happy ending. Sit tight.