a female gazing

I've never read the novel but I feel like I've pieced together some or part of the mystery they're laying out in the show:

- Deng Man wasn't actually in love with Jiang Yi, never had feelings for him
- The person she actually had feelings for was the Volleyball Coach, which was why she went to watch their practices and was so dejected when he told her she couldn't stay and 'distract them'
- Most likely, Deng Man actually had something going on with the Coach — he probably fooled around with her and because he was married, it created this whole star-crossed lovers thing in Deng Man's mind (hence the Hiroshima Mon Amour obsession)
- Ding Jing witnessed one of their trysts and filmed it (which is why she was waving the phone with the evidence around in Deng Man's face) and decided to use it to control Deng Man
- Ding Jing thus blackmailed Deng Man to confess her 'feelings' to Lu Yan about liking Jiang Yi, as a way to break them up
- Some confrontation occurred later which involved the Coach, Deng Man, Ding Jing, and the Coach's wife, which led to her being hurt and Deng Man's 'death,' though I'm not convinced Deng Man is really even dead tbh
- Otherwise, the Mastermind is the Coach's wife, trying to get revenge on everyone involved and reveal the truth

We'll see how I did over the next week or so 😂

Falling For Innocence. I just rewatched it and it really holds up. So good! https://kisskh.at/12360-falling-for-innocence

If there's one rule in Cdrama land, it's to never trust the trailers.

The show always looks darker and more intense than it ends up being. Eveeeerrrry damn time. I'm still pissed off about the pre-release materials of Unchained Love lmao.

Seok Ryu seems to have based a lot of her identity on her ability to work hard and succeed —she is shown to have been very smart and industrious, getting herself through school and even studying abroad and learning English fluently, and then landing a job at a very prestigious company in the US. She is also the eldest sibling and was clearly expected to follow a certain path in order to keep her family financially secure as the main breadwinner and, from her mom especially, help maintain their family's social status.

I think the burnout she experienced, which led to her losing her job, and then her fiancè cheating/losing interest in their relationship, was probably the final nail in the coffin for her pride.

It's a simple matter of pride. Admitting she was cheated on, forces her to admit a vulnerability that she does not want revealed to the world. It's awful but there is a certain shame that accompanies this experience.

Watching Cui Zhou arguing with that neighbor was the highlight of my day lmao. I'm enjoying the "soft" character he plays at home so much that I'm almost dreading when his stoic prince side comes back out during angsty times. And it definitely feels like it's almost angst o'clock!

"Romanticized and normalized"

Did you even watch this show? Lmao.

it's being subbed here by a fan-subber: https://mega.nz/folder/KVUTAAAB#d5bYnuQTs7gRto-kftRcvQ

Anyone happen to have a link where I can read the novel with an English translation? Seems like the original was locked :(

You have literally made my day kind stranger!!!!!

Not me already shipping Yan Nanxing with Shang Bieli lmao.

That unbearable tension when she was drawing the portrait of JiaYe for him was absolutely smooooouldering. Ryan Cheng's ability to generate chemistry with any and all of his female counterparts on screen is simply unmatched.

/heavy sigh/

This was a phenomenally-acted and unexpectedly moving drama and I absolutely loved every second of the ride. What a sincerely gorgeous story.

My very intellectual final review: Duke Su in episode 40, covered in the blood of his enemies, with his WIFE'S JADE AMULET BETWEEN HIS TEETH 🥵🥵🥵

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That is all.

When Duke Su said to Jiang Li, "I've never seen you panic like this..." with his chin resting in his hand and that smugly-surprised-lazy-smile on his face.....OOOOOF. I swear I felt that domestic soulmate bliss deep down in my freakin' soul.

Y'all, I love these two so much. I'm not even close to ready to let this couple go.

This guys' charisma is crazy. It's not every day you see screen presence like his.

Manifesting some juicy lead roles for him to show off his natural acting chops and soulful eyes!!!

I agree. They really dragged out this 4-episode arc. It would be one thing if she was actually high-school aged, but she is a woman in her 30s! I wish they were giving us a little bit more of a mature approach with this. She doesn't think through any of her actions and it has become a little tiresome...really hoping the show bounces back, because I love these two together and the first 8 eps were phenomenal for the most part!

I totally agree. I do think we'll find out that Twitchy-eyes Jangle-keys (absolutely legendary nickname lmao) has to be stopped early in order to be stopped at all; I foresee something going terribly wrong in this timeline and Im Sol being thrown back into the past armed with new info about him so that she and SJ can investigate together and prevent a catastrophic future from unfolding. But as big bro told Sol in the maternity ward: to gain something, you have to lose something in exchange. I'm anticipating a relatively bittersweet—but mostly sweet, I hope!!—ending in that regard as the show seems to be hinting at it.

I reeeeally want to see them go through life as lovers too but I am letting myself enjoy this fun new setting for the moment. The show is doing a fantastic job with the pacing! It never lets you get bored or allows the setting to feel stale. So much fun and very unique! If it keeps up this quality and this rhythm, I feel like this will become one of my top dramas in over a decade of watching them.

My theory on what's going on:

The murderer/kidnapper from Im Sol's childhood is also the current murderer/antagonist. This psycho is clearly vengeful; once his twitchy eye is set on something, he clearly means to see it through to the end—as evidenced by him running Im Sol over in front of a witness because she had the gall to try to escape.

Perhaps he has been 'tracking' her through the years, and maybe even Seon Jae as well, waiting for his time to strike. Maybe he was even the one who pushed Seon Jae off the balcony of his hotel room in the first episode, and he posed as an employee or worker to gain entry? I think this is very much connected. Possibly, he is also the man in all black who bumps into Im Sol in both the original present and the 'current' present, when her phone screen gets shattered.

Because you can't have a romantic Kdrama without a serial killer these days, apparently.

I DON'T CARE THOUGH AND I AM NOT COMPLAINING! This is BY FAR my favorite drama of 2024 and I am literally chomping at the friggin' bit for more of it. The chemistry between the leads is so outrageously delightful that I would without hesitation watch THEM watch paint dry for an hour a day.

I never want it to end!!!! Can't wait for their sensual sleepover tomorrow!!!

Spot-on analysis that really nails what bothered me about this drama. It had quite a bit of potential but Cheng Huan's lack of flaws really made her feel wooden. She had no real growth in this drama; she was wise and flawless from the get-go. And all of the complexity and moral ambiguity displayed by Zhiming in the earlier episodes got tossed aside — turns out he's perfect too! I think everyone hated the Mom so much because she was the only one with an actual character and personality (exasperating though it may have been).

Also really respect your last point and appreciate you sharing it. I worked in elderly care for quite a while and this is a really nuanced and valuable perspective!

It's on iQiyi.

I obviously wasn't expecting Kleun Cheewit levels of angst and heaviness here but I will admit I am A LITTLE disappointed having waited yeeeears for Mark and Yaya's reunion. What I do like is that the show doesn't take itself too seriously—it's self-aware about how silly it is at times. I actually have giggled quite a bit watching these characters react to each other. They're so sincere lmao. And most importantly, the chemistry between the leads is excellent. This time, it isn't all yearning and obsessive hatred and angry sparks, but there is still a very fun physical chemistry and watching them use their bodies in such playful ways is really hilarious and endearing tbh.

That being said, I hope we start to move toward some reveals soon—I'd like to have more than a surface-level understanding of these characters (Apo especially; Yaya is such a gifted actress but the script isn't really letting her do what she does best). I'm looking forward to when the slapstick starts to subside and we get into the more emotionally charged territory of the lakorn. Like, I'm still enjoying it...but it's not what I was expecting...and it isn't where these two truly shine if that makes sense?

I wonder a little bit if their very public off-screen relationships impacted their choice of script somewhat? Mark and Yaya have proved to have such a winning formula just being in the same frame together, but I feel like they're wasting their organic potential with this show.

No one does a protective ML like Zhao Yi Qin!! Be still my heart!!