IM YourOnlyOne

It's so hard to explain. One, there are two writers, the original writer of she trilogy on Wattpad; two, the scriptwriter.

Also, it was based on a Filipino's romantic, drama, type of story, not Western or Korean or Japanese or Thai or Chinese.

And lastly, men and women do fall for what you call a "bully".

Bonus: the 1ML is not a "bully" in Filipino standards. I'm a GenXennial Filipino who studied and grew up in the Philippines, the way the 1ML acted was not yet "bully" level as far as we are concerned. He is very close to crossing the line though, based on 2020s standards. Anyway, it's so hard to explain without comparing with other cultures.

The thing is, many are not aware that majority of the cast are newbies, and they intentionally chose newbies because we seriously need new blood. If we are not going to give newbies any project, then how can they grow?

All actors around the world started as everyone else in their field. Only a handful special ones had an innate talent in acting.

One of the most popular actor today started as a teen actor and was supposed to be a guest only. They saw she has potential so they kept hiring her for more and more episodes until she became the top choice.

She gained experience and learned her craft. Now she's well-known and in-demand.

These criticisms, they're just not aware majority of the cast in this show are newbies.

As for "why they do this", the answer is, it's just natural.

When babies are born many, if not most, parents generally use and teach Philippine English (official language) first before their kid learns Filipino (official language & national language) + another 3rd language (local/regional/tribal language).

Hence, code-switching and code-mixing is natural for Filipinos who grew up in the Philippines (but rarely for those who grew up elsewhere). Even foreigners with kids who studied here in the Philippines learn it (good example: Sandara Park, she can code-switch and code-mix Filipino, Philippine English, Mandarin, Hokkien, and Hangugeo).

We have:
- 1 National Language: Filipino (not Tagalog)
- 2 Official Languages: Filipino (not Tagalog) & Philippine English
- 8 Major Languages: Tagalog (not Filipino), Kapampangan, Pangasinense, Iloko, Waray-waray, Bikolano, Hiligaynon, and Cebuano
- 120+ languages
- 100+ dialects

Not to mention, many Filipinos have mix ancestry with mainland Chinese, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.
- Mandarin
- Cantonese
- Hokkien (locally known as Fukien)

And the influence of anime since the 1970s, many studies Nihongo.

And the influence of Kpop and Kdrama since the 1980s, many studies Hangugeo.

A Filipino who grew up here in the Philippines can speak at least 3 languages: Philippine English, Filipino, and their regional/local language.

So, say, someone who speaks Hiligaynon naturally and unconsciously code-switch and/or code-mix Hiligaynon words and sentences while speaking to a person who don't understand Hiligaynon, that person gets curious and learns Hiligaynon or reuse the same words.

In the end, we know words from various Philippine languages too. So, dialogues you might have heard in the Philippine shows or lyrics you've heard in music (Ppop) probably actually contains 3 or more languages. 😝 If we don't pay attention, we mix words (even sentences) from various languages, and well, it's natural for us, we don't notice it unless we pay attention. 😅

Yes, we naturally speak that way.

There are two ways we're doieg it:

First way: code-switching. This means a person switches from one language to another seamlessly. For example, Philippine English and Filipino.

It also applies to dialects. For example, from Manila-Tagalog to Batangas-Tagalog.

Second way: code-mixing. This means a person it mixing two languages in the same sentence.

There are two ways we do code-mixing:
a. Philippine English sentence with Tagalog words. (a.k.a. Englog)
b. Tagalog sentence with Philippine English words. (a.k.a. Taglish)

For us, we don't notice we code-mixing unless we pay attention to it because the flow is very natural. Or, if someone formed a very weird and often funny combination.

Code-switching is noticeable in non-casual conversations. But in casual conversations, it's generally not noticeable for us locals. It's so natural for us, we unconsciously code-switch to Filipino while talking to foreigners (even abroad). 🤣🤣🤣

Cliffhanger. If I remember correctly, S02 will be based on Book 2. I haven't read that one though, only the original when it was still on-going (I didn't even finish it).

Lifestyle, dynamics, dress, hairstyle, it's the same thing. A person, even non-Asian, can have the same for even up to 20 years or more.

As for schedules, since they are students, their schedule is pretty much school and home. And by the looks of it, they're in college/university, depending of the school's style, the fictional school probably was based on allowing students to choose their schedule and subjects.

I'm not defending them, maybe it was an error on their planning or maybe not. All I'm saying is that it is possible in an Pacific-Asian life and culture. We're not Europeans or North Americans where things change every year or so. This is especially true for students, student life, schedule, style, dress, hair style, dynamics, and everything else pretty much stay the same until our mid-20s.

By mid-20s, that's usually when things change. Second work/job. Better pay. More influences from more people (work colleagues, purchasing power). Most importantly, Pacific-Asians gets free from the restraints of our parents and immediate relatives, so we start to explore and assert "this is me" … to some extent (not entirely).

Again, I'm not defending them. I'm just sharing that in our cultures, what you observed is not uncommon.

They'll really do a time-travel afterall. 😅😅😅

E11 preview!

E11 and E12 will be on Feb 29, 2024 and later.

The story is happening between 2020 and 2024.

Yes, months and years passed.

Also, yes, we Asians don't generally show any difference even after 5 years, even 10 years. I'm GenXennial and people still mistake me to be in my early 20s. 🤣🤣🤣🤣 It's why I keep my hair long so they'll only mistake me to be in my 30s. 😝😝😝😝

No. The story ended perfectly. What many assumed as a cliffhanger is actually not. It was simply a way to tell the audience that she ML survived and thei lived happily ever after.

There won't be a S02, the story ended. 🙂 What many people assumed as a cliffhanger is not so, it simply wants to show the audience that he survived the reset because he escaped in the personal instance the developer hid in to.

That's why he is not registered in the new version. But he is still part of the code, a code the company programmers cannot find but for sure the OG developer can because he's the one who hid it (the personal instance).

It was a perfect ending to the story.

Good question!

To answer, yes, there was a bug that was introduced when the virtual Emma detected a murder attempt by a player to another player in the safe zone. Problem was, it was real-life weapon.

Also, virtual Emma was coded like a "god". She has access to many functions of the game that only develepors should have.

So, when Emma tried to do something about the attack she detected and failed because the weapon was not virtual, the system was confused and created a bug to "save" the player because as far as the system is concerned, the player is still alive in the game.

Meanwhile, the developer hid in his personal instance and started changing Emma to create the quest to fix the bug. Thus, by the time the ML met Emma, Emma already have a hidden quest, the quest to fix the bug.

I totally did not expect the E08 twist. I guess it won't be a K-drama without the usual Korean tropes. 😝😅

He is close with the town's chief and no doubt did a background check when he checked the applicants.

His two weeks "test" was probably to see if Mirae-ji will quit because he already suspected it isn't Miji but Mirae.

He kept "confusing" Mirae-ji's name _intentionally_ because he was forcing himself not to use her actual name, which is Mirae.

Then he slowly dug up the reason why the twins switched places, and all this time he was guiding Mirae how to handle her problems.

When their mother was hospitalized, he suspected Miji will visit the hospital,so he waited for them. It was the opportunity to finally end the switching.

During their lunch/dinner, he finally sealed the who's who.

So, since then, it he started using herreal name, Mirae. No point pretending because the cat is now out of the bag.

Mirae-ji was actually surprised at first, but she probably caught on that he knew and their lunch/dinner was just the final confirmation. Unless, Mirae-ji was slow and still missed the points because she got used to him using different names.

Oh, yes, he did say he likes "Mirae" better and the twins reacted. Miji-rae noticed there's something going on between them because of it.

However, think about it. Miji-rae have been telling him stories about "Mirae" (herself), her twin in Seoul. Not once did he say that he likes the name "Mirae" better. And not once did he call Mirae-ji as Mirae.

He only started calling Mirae-ji as Mirae after he met Miji-rae and even dropped a bomb that he likes the name "Mirae". He never called her by any other name since then too.

The only plausible conclusion is that, he always knew. And their lunch/dinnes together finally sealed his analysis, "they definitely switched".

Example; Mirae-ji didn't know about farming when Miji's application said she knows it well. = Highly suspicious. He probabbly asked the town chief and that's when he suspected the twins switched places.

Exactly the same thoughts.

But I guess it won't be a K-drama without the usual Korean tropes.

E08. I totally did not expect that. I forgot it's a K-drama. It won't be a K-drama without the usual tropes. 😅😝

E08 preview:

So, what do you think is the reason why Miji-rae was surprised to see the new guy in Mirae's office? It hints that Miji-rae knows the person.

Share your theories!

I doubt. Mr. Organic Strawberry Farming did not call Mirae-ji consistently.

I think he connectid the dots earlier than Hosu.

I'm suspecting he started to doubt when he "tested" Mirae-ji for 2 weeks. I think he knew she has a twin by asking the town's chief, and like Hosu, he respected the secrecy of the switch and waited for the right moment.

Initially, I thought that he just like the name "Mirae". But I remembered that Mirae-ji talked about "Mirae".

If Mr. Organic Strawberry Farming kept saying Mirae to Mirae-ji just because he liked the name better, why only now? Why did he never call Mirae-ji as Mirae before?

The only conclusion I can think of was, he didn't want to make it awkward with Mirae-ji. He waited patiently for the moment.

That moment was when he finally met the sisters together.

I'm also suspecting he was at the hospital because he suspected Miji-rae will be there. He used that opportunity to meet them together and have an improptu gathering. He tested Miji-rae and his suspicions and the stories of the town chief was confirmed then.

So, later, he started calling Mirae-ji by real name, "Mirae". There was no use in hiding it. Especially now that he finally is gettieg through the walls of Mirae, he's levelling with her, and it's the only way to get Mirae to open up—she needs to be herself and stop playing as Mirae-ji.

Now, I'm not saying I'm correct. Those are simply my suspicions because Mr. Organic Strawberry Farming was for once consistent in calling Mirae-ji as "Mirae". Before that, he was like "fooling" around with different names because he knew she is "playing" as Mirae-ji.

Do you know how good the writer is?

A week or two ago, I talked about the reasons why the writer picked an identical twin approach. Today, let's talk about the "flow".

The first half of the series was about Miji / Miji-rae. While we saw Mirae / Mirae-ji, the first half was narrated by Miji and Mirae was seen through the eyes of Miji. Yes, we had glimpses of the story from Mirae's perspective but those were few and usually only to make Miji-rae's situation understandable.

By E07, the narrator switched to Mirae. It is as expected.

However, there's more to it than splitting the series into two.

In E06, the flow of Miji's story started to wrap up while Mirae's started to pickup. And in E07, Miji's story finally wrapped up and Mirae's finally started.

Think of it this way.

- E01–02: Miji's airplane took off.
- E03–04: Miji's airplane was flying high.
- E05: Miji's airplane approached the airport.
- E06: Miji's airplane landed.
- E07: Miji's airplane taxied.

Meanwhile…

- E06: Mirae's airplane taxied.
- E07: Mirae's airplane takes off.
- E08–09: Mirae's airplane fliis high.
- E10–11: Mirae's approaches her destination.

Finally …

- E12: Mirae lands, and the Yu family reconciles and lives happily ever after.

It does appear that Mirae's story is shorter than Miji. Based on the official poster, the main character is Miji. Secondly, the main romantic love story is Miji and Hosu.

However, if you consider the Mirae parts from Miji's perspective, we've known Mirae's story already. Thus there's not much to tell from Mirae's side, the remaining episodes will focus on giving Mirae closure and healing from her ordeal.

So, if we take each scene and arrange them chronologically, the story of Miji and Mirae are more or less equal. With 2–3 episodes dedicated to both of them.

This is a very good storytelling flow. The writer carefully plotted each scene, and speet time arranging the scenes. The writer could've followed a strictly alternate story flow (common in novels) or a strictly half-half flow. Instead, the writer mixed the two methods in a beautiful and touching way.

🫰🏽🫶🏽🖖🏽👏🏽