PoetryInMotion

Sorry, maybe I'm being dumb, but I'm not sure what you're trying to tell me? I never called into question that Shinwoo is being his true self, it's just that his true self and the behaviour that results from that is the reason why his relationship with Tae Kyung is a bit strained for now. I'm not blaming him, we as the audience have a good insight into why he's acting the way he is, I was just pointing out that his actions so far have not helped him in reaching his goal. It's similar to classic tragedies where people act the best way they know how but because of the situation they're in it doesn't work out in their favour. Not that this is a tragedy, but y'know

Merci, merci :) Franchement je suis toujours contente d'avoir la possibilité de parler français, j'ai trop peur de perdre mes connaissances sinon. C'était trop dur à apprendre pour que je puisse supporter ça :D

Oui, c'est étonnant le nombre de petits détails que l'on ne remarque qu'avec un visionnage second ou même troisième. C'est une des raisons principales pour laquelle j'adore ce forum, il y a toujours quelqu'un qui offre une pensée ou une impression à laquelle je n'aurais été jamais arrivée sans aide.

Le drama est vraiment une belle surprise, non? J'ai hâte de voir la conclusion. J'ai fait mon choix, mais pour le moment je n'ai aucune idée comment on pourrait y arriver haha

Seems like the angst train is well and truly leaving the station starting with ep7. I can't help but feel sorry for Shinwoo, even though he sort of brought this on himself with his standoffishness. Unrequited crushes are decidedly Not Fun.

They've driven the point home about Da On so often now that I find myself a bit impatient for more character development. The 3 instances we've seen where he chose dishonesty to prevent someone being disappointed in him were already the narrative equivalent of being hit over the head with a caveman's club. I'm not sure that it was necessary to spell it out in dialogue, but I guess I'm grateful for the confirmation.

I have to admit, I'm a bit stumped with where the storyline could go from here. So Hee is a hindrance, but not nearly enough of an obstacle to truly prevent Tae Kyung and Da On from ending up together. The way they've set it up now, Tae Kyung and Da On will get closer, Shinwoo will pine in the corner, the end. But we're only halfway through, so that can't be it, right? I truly have no idea what they could pull out of the proverbial hat, narrative-wise, that will shake things up, especially since this show prioritises characters over plot so heavily. I'm a teeny tiny bit worried that they might've run out of steam a little? But I guess we'll see.

Sure lol
Here ya go: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8636053/chapters/19804633
I misremembered some details, it was college friends not school friends, and I don't know if the fandom is one you're into, but I can definitely vouch for the emotional devastation this caused me :D

See, I just disagree entirely. Yes, you can exchange phone numbers in all kinds of situations, but it was a group date. Everybody knows what the expectation and hope is there.
I think he deliberately lied. The excuse he gave was that the tutoring session with Taekyung went on longer than expected, and his phone was out of battery. The thing is, they were still at school, if he was actually concerned he could have gone to the student council room quickly to let her know he wouldn't be able to make it. He gave that excuse only after she confronted him about it, he didn't even shoot her a quick text the next day to apologise. No matter how you feel about Sohee, that's not nice behaviour.
There are plenty of levels in between that and being like Shinwoo. It's possible to be firm AND polite. And Daon is not shy. He has demonstrated plenty of times that he's savvy in social situations and good with his words, diffusing conflicts, taking control of conversations, etc. It's not that he can't, it's that he won't sometimes. Again, I'm not criticising him for being nice. It's just that, in my opinion, there were situations where he lead people on. And while I believe that Sohee is also in the wrong, I think to an extent she's a problem of Daon's own making. He needs to be more assertive with her.

I am! I'm plenty annoyed with him. Not for being nice - that'd be ridiculous - but for being conflict avoidant to the point that he's lying to people and leading them on. Case in point, lying to Sohee about meeting her in the council room with no intention of actually doing so, which, irony of ironies, he did right after complimenting Taekyung for his honesty; and accepting clearly romantic gestures (the phone numbers after the group date) from people whom he openly admits he has no romantic interest in, setting them up for more deeply hurt feelings than what he claims he wanted to protect them from in doing so. With the scene in this latest episode too, I don't believe the girl was angry at him for "being nice"- I believe it was a similar situation to that of the group date, only that this time Sohee wasn't there to make people delete Daon's phone number. It's clearly his personal struggle at the moment that he won't assert himself even in situations where it would be better for everyone if he did so. I reserve the right to be annoyed with him until he fixes that particular behaviour, because it's frankly shitty.

En fait si tu veux on peut parler français! Mon français n'est pas hyper bon, mais je comprends presque tout, donc si c'est plus confortable pour toi et si tu as envie de me parler dans les commentaires, ça va bien :D

I'm liking this, I think. In days of yore, when I read fan fiction, I remember there was one with a similar premise, old school friends with unresolved feelings meeting again at a class reunion, that absolutely tore out my heart and trampled it into the floor, in a good way. So I have high hopes for this storyline. Judging by the cinematography, which is more minimalistic and gritty than is common in BL, they're going for that sort of indie, "Queer Media" vibe, so maybe this will veer off the beaten path a little. I'm intrigued in any case. And I'm liking the characters. Especially Phob has that very authentic vibe of the slightly dick-ish but not mean-spirited teenager. I'll definitely be back!

A very smart commenter on this forum once described to me those gazes that you mention with the phrase "loving eyes". I adore that description and it fits perfectly for Shinwoo in those moments. He's a great character.

Right?? Namgoong is the absolute MVP. He seems so easygoing, but his mind is razor sharp, that boy misses NOTHING. That part when they were cleaning up the classroom and he was so exasperated at how clearly he was being turned into the third wheel? Hi-la-ri-ous.
That Shinwoo scene....my heart. I love him :(

Oh wow, I'm really happy to hear that :D That's high praise. I love talking about these things, so knowing that someone finds my thoughts valuable makes me very happy.
I just watched the scene again with your theory in mind and personally, I think you're absolutely correct. The chief bully totally gives Tae Kyung that up-and-down look that jealous girlfriends give potential rivals and scans both their faces like you say. What confirmed it for me, and I can't believe that I didn't pick up on that sooner, was that the bully only seemed to want to hit Tae Kyung and not Shinwoo. With Shinwoo, he's interested in control, like he has some sort of toxic obsession. Like he was too homophobic to openly like him back, but he can't bear to let him get away or like someone else. And the way Shinwoo looks at him, it is very heartbroken, like you say. As if he can't believe that someone he liked once could be so cruel.
Aaahhh this show has so many layers! I'm in love. Thank you for your insight! :D I wonder if we'll see those bullies again...

just dropping in to say, your English is fine, don't worry :) Also, I think I'll go back to that episode, because I'm super intrigued by your theory!

yeah...it was a bit of a slow starter, but I'm so so glad I stuck with it. I feel like people who dropped it early on will really miss out on something great.

Ugh....god. This show is starting to tug on my heartstrings in a serious way.

Da On took me on an emotional roller coaster this episode. Thanks to him, I finally got something I've been screaming about since the first episode, which was a little insight into Tae Kyung's interests and hobbies. Then I got mad at him again, because the exact thing I SAID would happen when you don't let people know your honest feelings happened - someone got hurt. In a way, this was even worse than what I initially reproached him with because he actually chatted with the girl instead of just accepting her number like he did with the girls at the blind date. Yes, he seemed shocked, so maybe he really did delude himself to a certain extent that what he was doing wasn't bad, but goddamnit man. If he doesn't genuinely like Tae Kyung after the way he's been laying it on so incredibly thick this entire episode and after this firsthand experience with the girl, I'm going to strangle him for real. ESPECIALLY since he knows Tae Kyung is inexperienced with friendships and relationships.

Not that I actually WANT those two to end up together after the way Shinwoo came for my feelings this episode. Emotionally repressed characters falling deeply in love is my ultimate weakness. I can't form any coherent thoughts about him beyond that because that area of my brain has turned to goo. If he gets his heart broken AGAIN (because it's obvious to me that that's what happened in middle school), I don't know what I'll do.

Meanwhile, Namgoong is slowly but steadily climbing to the top of my favourites list. Kind of in the same way, this series keeps getting dearer to my heart with every episode. I sort of predicted it would happen like that because deeply character-driven shows like this are usually growers for me, but I have to admit I'm a bit surprised by how invested I already am. And to think this is only episode 6, and we have 10 more to go... What an absolute treat.

I was thinking the same thing...God that would be great. I don't want to get my hopes up but man. Toktaeng is best girl and I would love to see that.

Aww, thanks :) I'm not sure where to watch tomorrow though - Viki's not caught up and I think the YouTube uploads stop after episode 5. Do you know if WeTV is up to date? Might try that with a VPN.

Yes to everything! With Shinwoo too, Tae Kyung is honestly the perfect person at the perfect time for him, because other people I think would back off after the initial hostility, when that's the opposite of what Shinwoo really wants and needs, but since Tae Kyung doesn't really follow common rules of social interaction, he keeps pushing. That's actually what I love about (well-done) slice of life - the seemingly mundane that hides all kinds of complexities when you look closer. I have to admit I struggled with understanding Tae Kyung at first, though I never thought he was bland, but I appreciate him more and more every episode. Diving into these characters has been incredibly interesting and I'm excited for what's to come. :D

Also, I think you're right about the upcoming sexual tension - I might be wrong, but I think Shinwoo's ears went red again when Tae Kyung grabbed him. He might have liked that a little lol.

Honestly, I'm so glad this forum exists, these discussions are almost as fun as watching the shows (sometimes more), and I feel like hearing people's thoughts and analysis makes me appreciate the show even more.

Oh man. This episode was WORLDS better than last week - might be the best episode yet? I can't think of a single moment where I didn't enjoy myself.

First of all, TOKTAENG MY BELOVED. Missed you last week, don't stay away again please.

Bitch had some great moments, I'm absolutely bloody in love with them together and Bank is so cute I could eat him.
And Sun and Sky? Talk about the bodyguard trope being milked to the very last delicious drop of cliché goodness. Didn't veer into cringe territory at all for me this week and the development between them is so. damn. fun. Also, my perception might be, uhh...warped...because he was shirtless so much, but did Gun's acting improve considerably? I feel like the initial douchey bravado of the character didn't suit him and now that the character has softened a bit, it's a lot more natural. All in all, great work team, loved it, can't wait for next week!

God, yeah, those big character moments? That REALLY is the good shit lol. Right there with you hoping for that. The dynamic you describe between Shinwoo and Tae Kyung is also something I'd really like to see.

If I look at it from the perspective of what these two other characters would most benefit from, my gut feeling is that Da On needs a really good no-nonsense friend who clearly sees all his not-so-shiny sides and likes him anyway, and Shinwoo needs the chance to experience the romantic love that he feels he can't have. With Tae Kyung's personality, he's just the kind of little wrecking ball with a bowl cut who could shake up these people's lives for good.

Totally agree that it's not really romantic so far. At the moment, I only ship Tae Kyung with growth, confidence and self love lol. Neither Da On nor Shinwoo would make good boyfriends at this point IMO, and they all need to work on themselves. I have to say though, this approach is pretty refreshing. A lot of the time, BLs focus so much on the development of a relationship that the characters entering into it remain very static. It's cool to see that turned on its head a little!