bloomingtide

What? You do not solemnly swear to always find and protect the other with people who are not your friends? Disappointing xD

But joke aside, it gets frustrating to see how very hyperfocused ppl are on the typical romcom signifier to determine the existence of a romance in a drama. (As though there is just one valid kind.) And in doing so they are completely disregarding the deep emotional bond the leads' have developed with each other over the course of the story. Just because they have not made kissy-faces at each other (yet) and/or weren't as openly displaying their affection for each other. doesn't mean there "is no romance" (... Both due to very good and obvious (plot) circumstances and reasons, i might add)

Yeah at this point when he appears in a drama i am like: Oh i wonder who the villain of this drama will be? Maybe the not so anymore unsuspecting too friendly actor there who played several serial killers/psychopaths in the past already? Now that would be a complete plot twist no one sees coming //sarcasm.

I bet he is a nice guy irl, but i never trust his characters 😂 (and he is way too much typecast atm, he really needs to shift gears. Well at least he has gotten a weapon upgrade from a hammer (welcome 2 life) and slingshot (CCIR) to a real gun. So yay for progress, lmao)

Y'all do know that romance means more than just kissing, confessions and holding hands, right? Because the way how some people bemoan a supposed "lack of romance/no development" in this drama just proves that yall have a too narrow view of what that actually means. And neither have been paying attention to the little things, nor the leads' dynamic and how it developed from episode one to the current episode tbh.

I wrote about it in detail here and why I love it: (some mild spoilers but nothing major)

https://kisskh.at/694395-sleep-memo#comment-12724989

try the currently airing Call It Love, maybe? Which is sadly as undervalued as this one.

Haha truuuue 😂

It is mentioned that he stays for weeks there instead just one night as he had planned. So some time had passed since his (and the other guys' arrival.) Thus him liking her is not as sudden as it seems to be. It shows in how he went out of his way to protect her from that creepy man without wanting her to know, and got all flustered and blushy when she caught him being the one who did so the next day. Also he was super-happy and smiley about the sweet confectionery or whatever that was she made for him to cheer him on on his test/exam. Plus all these typical accidental touch/look deeply at each other kdrama romance scenes they had ofc, haha.

So yeah, sometimes it is the little, subtle things that show someone's budding attraction and he is more the tsundere type to begin with. Aka conceal don't feel with outwardly being grumpy but a sweet cinnamon inside 😁

Lol sageuks only have two types of kings: it is either the benevolent but encumbered by evil ministers one or, especially when the focus is not on the palace we have the mad for power, corrupt, murderous one that claimed the throne by illicit means. Here it is definitely the latter, even with an additional manslut trait to make him even more unsympathetic to the viewers, hahaha.

they changed it to not show ratings until around 2-4 episodes have aired, which tbh, is a change for the better since the rating is very volatile in that time (aka goes easily up and down and repeat)

Yeah, but the difference in comparison to other guys she was dating is that she is her authentic herself with him and does not fake anything to be more likeable to the romantic partner. I think that is exactly what HS needs in a relationship and probably the angle they will take to develop it. We will see ;)

thank you :D I still need to update this review tho, i kinda forgot about it, lol. But first i need to catch up on the remaining episodes whoops xD

*resists the urge to mention Alchemy Of Souls here* 😇😇 😇

A Piece of Your Mind (same poetic/dreamy vibe) , May I Help You (*not* a romcom, don't let the light exterior fool you) Thirty But Seventeen (this one is more light in tone, but it deals with lot of trauma and healing/moving on from a life in standstill, super wholesome tho) Temperature Of Love, Chocolate, If You Wish Upon Me and +1 for Just Between Lovers

that inhuman noise i made at the end of episode 9, yall. This slow burn gonna be my death, but at least it will be a worthy one 😁

Their avoidance of each other before that was close to an Olympic discipline tho 🙃

It is two episodes on the same day tho 😉

Spoiler for these two shows:








Crash Course In Romance

Welcome 2 Life

In both this actor plays an unassuming nice guy who is actually a serial killer that murders because he wants to protect/impress the person he cares about. So my surprise that he is a shady mf here too is zero tbh 😂

What? The actor who played serial killers in two dramas already turns out to be a shady mf here too? Who would have thought? I AM SHOOKETH 😲😲😂

when you are depressed it is even the biggest struggle to get out of bed, so i highly doubt Dong Jin has any energy to spare, least of all to style his hair, tbh.

Haha, yeeees. I absolutely loved how he insulted himself without knowing 😂

Unlike others here, i really appreciate the way the romance is done. It is a steady development from distrust to trust, them getting to know and opening up about their thoughts, fears, hopes with each other, where they now have reached the point they can communicate and understand each other without words. There is a deep bond between them that goes beyond words or sweet nothings. It is not needed, bc it is as natural as breathing for them. Aka #somarried

Sure if you expect a classic kdrama romance with lots of skinship, giggly antics (well we had that with JY today and her squeeing over Hwan calling her name, heh), grand gestures and words of love, you are setting yourself up for disappointment here. Their love is way more subtle, in a read between the lines way, but it is clearly THERE. In every of their words and actions they share, all these declarations of how they protect and always know how to find each other, their mutual support and affirmation of being there for each other... their feelings are as clear as it gets.

And given their circumstances they both can't be more open with it, especially not Hwan in his position as CP and her being a (current) fugitive. He is also between a rock and a hard place with the sergeant being one of his few trusted friends, so he feels very guilty about his feelings for her on top of everything else and thus tries to suppress them (while failing epically.) Hence why he wanted to "do the right thing" and send her away to her supposed betrothed in a bout of noble idiocy. I love how Jae Yi rid him of that notion quickly tho 😁She knows exactly how to handle him and dares to when no other does due to him being royalty, which again #somarried.

Not to mention that Hwan is the most dense guy in the matters of heart, even though JY was as direct as she dared to be with him now. That whole scene of him being pissy af and jealous of "that guy" (aka himself🤣) while trying to figure out with whom she could have possibly fallen in love with and Jae Yi teasing and calling him rightfully an idiot was sending me places 😂🤣 I love them and i reeeeeally hope to see them together in the end. They are perfect for each other and would make a kickass royal power couple.