bloomingtide

Baek Dong Joo is a former professional ping pong athlete, who has just started to work as a funeral director. On her first day on the job she finds out she has the gift, or curse, to momentarily wake up and talk to the recently deceased people, when she touches them. Those people between life and death have last wishes she has to grant, or her days will be filled with a series of bad luck and accidents. Scared out of her wits by the dead coming back to life, she runs away from her working place at day one however, and instead returns to studying for the civil exam she’d failed before. However, since that day, the streak of bad luck and the memory of the first client she abandoned don’t leave her alone. Hence, over a year later, Baek Dong Joo decides to return to work as funeral director, in order to fulfill her duty to and the wishes of the dead people to end her karmic misfortune. She has to grant 21 wishes in total to be freed of this fate.

Kim Tae Hee, also known as Kim Jip Sa to his clients, works as a man for hire. Employed by his uncle Vincent running the newly opened errand service company “A Dime A Job” he can be hired for any odd but legal task, such as walking dogs, delivery or sorting recycling waste, for as little as one hundred Won. One day, Kim Tae Hee encounters Baek Dong Joo, when he was hired by her boyfriend to break up with her in his stead. After that, their paths continue to cross, and by the virtue of their jobs their fates get intertwined deeper and deeper in a series of life and death situations, surrounding the wishes of the people who had died, and the painful past it is going to unravel for both of them.

This is my own, rewritten synopsis i have submitted for approval now, to replace the terribad worded one from Asian Wiki. Keep fingers crossed it gets approved, lol. If you have thoughts on how to improve it further, let me know, tho. Since i mention she returns to the job over a year later, it should also take care of the timeline confusion problem for people somewhat hehe

Honestly i only have start watching it for Junyoung, lol. Pick up the currently airing drama "May I Help You" if you want to see him free from the idol role typecasting shackles tho. He is even better in there and lives that role in all its facets - from grief-stricken, traumatized man over errand boy for everything going above and beyond, to adorable dork in love with a high golden retriever energy :D

I know right? she is bullshitting her way through the palace (and into the king's heart) in the same way So Bong/Young has done in Mr. Queen. Same chaotic, no fucks given energy as well hahaha. And the king will take the same "weirded out by her strangeness to smiling fondly at her chaotic antics to oh shit i am in love" progression as well, i bet 😎

Ah i see. Mr. Queen is still my personal gold standard when it comes to mixing humor with more serious story beats, its enemies to lovers progression, and i liked the ending as well since he was always meant to return (which is well-explained in a MDL forum post btw)

But yeah 100 days my prince is quite light throughout indeed. Has a bit of palace intrigue bs as well but not overly much haha. It is a good watch, not the best but still entertaining :) ML's catchphrase stays with me to this day hahaha

Happy it helped :) I noticed during the first half of the drama that a lot of people were confused about the timeline. Which is why i sat down and hunted/wrote down the dates the drama gives us about it. Since they are mostly visual clues and/or hidden in documents on signs etc, they can be missed quite easily. Hence it helps to have such a list at hand hehe :D

aww thank you 😘😘😘

I actually love that they are very tongue in cheek about sageuks and take nothing too seriously. You know, until it is with its angsty beats, and tbh that gives the story/characters much needed depth and stakes.

But you just knew they would be irreverent toward everything in sageuks, when they absolutely made sure to emphasize that this story is FICTIONAL and NOT REAL a couple of times at the start of it, lmao. Because otherwise they would be in deep shit and teared down for its many many inaccuracies by knetz by now 🤣

Have you seen Mr. Queen already? Because i would recommend that one over 100 days my prince any time of the day. FL is equally chaotic and irreverent toward the palace and its etiquette like So Rang. Its plot is a bit heavier, slower build up of course but it such a fun ride and the acting of everyone involved is stellar (Kim Jung Hyun and Shin Hye Sun are accomplished, varied actors in their own right, but together? *chefkiss*) :D

It iiiiiis, i have trust in this writer, but also am scuuuured for my poor babies who have all suffered so much already. Everyone is in paaaain atm in their own way and i just want to wrap everyone in a blanket and tell them it will be okay😭

Sigh, the typical dreaded climax/crisis part of the story that needs to be resolved before we can go back to the gooey/goofily goodness that is Dongjoo/ Taehee being cute af (and married?? 👰🤵 pls pls pls writer, even if it is a timejump, haha) together.

No problem. I mean i cannot know for 100% sure till it is over, of course haha. However given that the screen writer followed a clear line and arc in her plot and themes till episode 12 (start (eps, 1-4) build up (eps 4-8), crisis (eps 9-10,) climax (eps 11-13, i think), resolution (eps 13-14/15) ending (eps 14/15-16)

Last ones are my guesses of course, but like it is *textbook* structure for a plot/narrative arc that you cannot execute any better in writing, tbh. (I named them differently from my own writing experience, but see a more technical example/explanation of the term/technique here: https://www.theblacksheep.community/storytelling-arc/)

The themes of regrets/stuck in the past/unable to move forward, forgiveness, hope, healing from trauma/grief,, finding support/comfort in each other, to live on and live on well etc are woven into the plot arc throughout too, be it through the leads or the otherworldly clients wanting the best for the people they had to leave behind.

The writer also has stayed true to her characters, their traits and way they act stays organically to their development shown to us till now. Hence the characters, especially the leads, don't do dumb shit out of nowhere to create needless drama or misunderstandings to drag out a conflict, nooooo. It is always handled head on with clear, honest communication between all of them.

So this is a long roundabout way to make my point but unless the writer did hit her head too hard or has sniffed glue or something xD, i don't expect her clear line and quality in writing to decline at the end for the exchange of clichéd kdrama/shockvalue bullshit lmao. And she is clearly setting up an happy ending for the leads, even if it is of the hard-earned one category (bc grief and the fallout from events never is nor should be easy, It is more satisfying that way then, heh. (However, we have three clients to go, and no one here watching it is sure who it is going to be (which is a testament to the screenwriter's abilities tbh, as it keeps things exciting till the end. So the fear expressed here for the side characters around the leads is still somewhat valid tho, haha. The leads are going to be safe and sound and *together*, tho. They are already acting like a married couple who don't need words to communicate, and their foundation for their relationship, their trust and love for each other is so STRONG in general. Plus clear, quick communication about EVERYTHING throughout, so yeah😎)

I picked it back up now where netflix is releasing the eps in my region, buuuut it is really not reeling me in so far (eps 3.) Even on double speed i'm kinda bored with the non-events in it and it draaaags.

However, i will power through to episode 5 or 6 since i think it will pick up after a certain inevitable thing happens they are not very subtly hinting at for about the majority of time, heh. At least i hope it will pick up, since it is so highly regarded here. Then again, I rarely find myself agreeing with MDL's opinions/faves/high ratings etc so we will see xD

Haha, welcome. Now you know how i feel xD I expected NOTHING of this drama and it snuck up on me to hit me over the head with great, well-structured writing of its plot (the onion method, aka bit by bit more layers are peeled back) organic character development and progression, warm vibes and one, if not *the* healthiest most supportive kdrama relationships between the leads i have ever seen. Such green flags, such great communication, kindness, affection and understanding/support with and for each other. Dongjoo and Taehee have raised my standards for kdrama couples SO HIGH, ngl.

I love them and this drama to bits by now, and i never expected it to happen. It is tragic how underrated/overlooked it is, tbh, because we really need more of the no-nonsense writing (aka no needless drama or misunderstandings, everything/every event has a purpose and small seemingly random details become vital later on) and clear communication between leads/characters in other kdramas

Yeah it is one of the few times where i feel sorry for SML, whereas i usually don't care for him, because well, SML haha. He is a cutie tho.

Honestly, there will be an happy ending. Because this drama is all about the journey and process of healing from grief/trauma, and what it takes to get there. It may be sad at times due to the subject matter (and its accurate portrayal of grief and what it does to people) but it is always warm and hopeful throughout it all. This drama is waaaay more about celebrating life and comforting the bereaved/people who have to keep living on than death. So yeah it won't pull a hotel del luna ending on you haha

Yeeeeah it feels like we are going to have a "she falls first, but he falls harder" situation here and i can't WAIT for it. The advantage of 12 eps is that they can keep the pace as high and chaotic as it is now (hopefully) haha, bless.

The parodies, lmao. This drama itself feels veeeery tongue in cheek about sageuks in general and i love it for its overall irreverence. Good thing they made clear it is a fictional setting to not get into trouble for inaccuracies or something, haha.

Tbh, episode one is just introductory and the drama gets much better with episode 2. Maybe give that episode still a go and decide after that one?

The leads' dynamic has everything, High chaotic energy (not him being afraid of frogs and her making frog noises😂), hilarity (the irreverence in general and the way she gets him to do everything she wants, her thinking he wants her to stay the night to prove rumors wrong 🤣) a dorky cuteness of the king (trademark of KYD which humanizes his character a lot and gives him depth) and the right amount of tragedy and angst (the possession scenes, his grief, her already regretting her scam and starting to like him, he calling SR only a shadow. Her reaction to it "Will it always be like this (for me)? As a shadow of the woman he can't forget?" Not her wiping away his tear and taking his hand when she didn't need to. Aaaah my heart)

I cannot WAIT for the day/episode when he looks at her and sees So Rang/SY only. YOU KNOW it will happen, but it will be long process of him being able to let go of his dead love first, of course. Also i love how clever and quick on her feet SR is, she has to improvise so much and always delivers. Give her a few more episodes and she will practically rule this country 🤣 (and LR's heart)

Nothing can compare to my golden retriever couple in May I Help You, buuuuut after watching the episode in full i still have unlocked a new otp haha. Like 2ML's story with FL is tragic and aww (and finally a good, non-toxic 2ML again, thank goooodddd) and i really like him. But gosh the dynamic between So Rang and Lee Heon *chefkiss* No SLS and me shipping only the leads strikes again, my streak is still ongoing, lmao. More yelling about them under the spoiler tag bc gosh, feels.