Shy

Hahaha. I guess it's more like I'm in denial that Park Hyeryun could write such a disappointing drama as this one when her previous dramas have been constantly good in my opinion. So I'm probably thinking of various reasons (or conspiracy theories if you can call it that) as to why this is happening. Lol. But I guess everyone can have their bad days or be in a slump. Authors can have writer's block so maybe she's having one too thus the bad writing. Lol

To be honest, I've always suspected this whenever a drama takes a weird turn. Like in this case, seeing as how both the main leads here are from the same agency. It has been quite apparent that their agency has been pushing the DoDal agenda in a very in-your-face kind of way (with their recent end-of-filming celebration photos that feels like an engagement party between the two XD and also the group photo they took with all the staff that has KSH and KHN standing all the way at the back while the two leads are front and center which I personally find really weird. LOL). I believe that the actors agencies do invest a bit in the production so they will have some influence.

For some odd reason though, I do feel that there might have been an internal disagreement as well seeing as how after the preproduced episodes were aired and KSH kind of gained attention despite not being the main first lead, the episodes after that has taken a bit of a turn. From the focus being on the letters and now suddenly it's not and the obvious cutting down of screen time for the second leads (which should not be the case because while they are secondary leads, they are still the main players of the whole storyline and should be getting ample screen time). I'm pretty sure that there is some kind of expectation/influence and the production would not want to get on the bad side of the agency and get blacklisted (by preventing the actors under their labels to appear in any future production of the director and writer again). & why do I feel like maybe writing NDS character this way is the writer's way of being petty because of the agency's expectations? LOL XD. I don't know. Just a feeling.

Where there's fame, there's jealousy.

It's unfortunately one of the drawbacks of gaining popularity. But it's alright, because the love he's receiving right now will overshadow the unnecessary hate.

Simple. Nam Joohyuk has a bigger international fanbase and thus have more fanpages dedicated to him. Fans are more obligated/dedicated to vote for their favourites (even if it's based on characters and not the real actors themselves). Take for example, I'm a BTS fan so if there's any polls that has BTS in it, I would obviously automatically vote for them. Twitter is known for its 'stan culture' so most of the users there are associated with fandoms. Whereas if we were to look at forums or platforms (take here at MDL or reddit for example) where unbiased locals or viewers with no fandom associations have a larger presence, then you can definitely see the popularity with Jipyeong's character.

Most of the comments are along the lines of "why did you hit our seonho/jipyeong T.T". hahaha

I'm so happy for him that he has gained a whole lot of fans, myself included!

Same. haha. I came for Nam Joohyuk but ended up staying for Kim Seonho. Funny thing is that I've seen Seonho before in Two Cops and thought he was such a good actor and scene-stealer but didn't really look into him much. & then he caught my attention again here in Start-up and it dawned on me that he's the same person from Two Cops. lol

Oh wow. I didn't know how popular Jipyeong is among local Korean viewers (I mean I know he is popular but I thought it'd be 50-50 or at most 60-40 with Dosan?) until I chanced upon this instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/CH6tJ3dJ06c/?igshid=1t3yenmvijfj4

Almost everyone commented is on Jipyeong's side. Lol

Kind of feel bad for Nam Joohyuk though but it's not his fault that the writer wrote such a character for him. Kind of glad that he already has something else after this so people can quickly forget about this Nam Dosan character. It's sad though because I actually really liked Dosan in the first half. But then his characterization went down the drain after that. Just my personal opinion though.

The way I can't drop this drama even if I want to because I wanna see 2020 Han Jipyeong. XD hahahahahahahaha! I can't resist. That hairstyle showing his forehead? His style? Those long coats and necktie? Director Han? The power he holds??

One thing I'm disappointed with is why are they wasting time on DS and DM's fluff when they could use that time to expand WIJ's character? Seriously, we don't need 5 minutes scenes of DS and DM just staring at each other (just to illustrate their romantic tension). Use that time to expand on their characters instead. I wish the romance could just take a backseat for now . Watching this episode made me realize that I enjoy it the most when they focus on the business aspects of the story. The romance was dragging it down for the past eps. Although I guess the romance was what spurred the passionate and interesting debates we see here. lol

Like I said, it's really useless trying to debate with someone who already has rose-tinted glasses for the characters they like and jaundiced views on the characters they don't. Like what you are doing now, you brought up all these things, expand and slightly skew them to fit into the narrative you built. Because you already form a negative opinion on something and you are just going to stick with that through and through no matter what others say because you lack empathy for that character. It's fine though. Not everyone can empathize and understand others easily. From what I see, you probably have a lack of understanding for Jipyeong's intentions. But that's alright as well. Even in real life, there will always be some people that you would understand and some people that you won't. But you can't fault others for having empathy for jipyeong's character.

For me personally, I don't understand Dalmi's approach to the current situation because it deviates from her initial attributes which the show established earlier on. But I fully understand and empathize with Jipyeong, Dosan and grandma's intentions.

Like you, this is my personal opinion. & I think there's no right or wrong with anyone's opinions. It's just difference in interpretations, that is all.

I wish you happy watching as well :)

Sigh. It's not delusion. I'm not even shipping anyone. lol. It's about being empathetic towards a character that I personally think deserves better. I just find it very weird that you are vilifying a character that is not even doing anything criminal. If Dosan can be easily forgiven for lying and pretending to be someone else then I think Jipyeong should also be given the same opportunity. & that is my opinion and why I think she's approaching this issue wrongly :) Just like how people with SLS are welcomed to stay with their 'delusion', you are also welcomed to stay with your rose-tinted glasses for Dosan and Dalmi and your jaundiced views on Jipyeong.

While I think it's good to have differing opinions and express them, but please refrain from calling others 'delusional' or what not. It's very rude and condescending and does not add anything fruitful to the argument. Instead it just highlights a very shallow argument.

I've seen your comments and I shall not argue with someone who already has an unjustified pessimism towards Han Jipyeong's character. It's tiring. lol. Good for you I guess, if you really wish to believe that Han Jipyeong don't deserve a bit of credit for making Dalmi's childhood happier.

Ah I just feel bad for Jipyeong because he deserves more and shouldn't just be pushed aside like that just so the main loveline between the leads could thrive.

I commented this on Youtube but I'll bring it up here as well. While the initial idea of the letters was grandma's but the words were all Jipyeong's. & yes, some would argue that the letters were skillfully crafted to fit a fictional persona however there is this thing called the psychology of words where you tend to reveal more than you realize. It's also the reason why some authors claim that there would always be some bits and pieces of themselves in any of the characters they have wrote and that the characters are a part of them. In this case, I feel that while Jipyeong did write to fit the narrative he envisioned with grandma but there will always be bits and pieces of him here and there and some words and phrases that may hold some sincerity coming from his own heart and mind (such as revealing his real birthdate instead of using a fake one and him telling her that he wishes to play go-stop on his birthday etc). & I realize that this parallels nicely with the scenes to Jipyeong instructing Dosan on what to text and say to Dalmi. Dosan was like the messenger (the person who does the action or the medium that conveys the message) but Jipyeong was the person behind the message and content of the text. The words were all his. But of course, the person that gets credit for that sweet message was Dosan. Sigh.

Without Jipyeong's words, Dosan would've told Dalmi that he wanted fried chicken and a 128gb USB drive. LOL

I hope Dalmi would express her gratitude towards Jipyeong for being the one who wrote those letters that gave her so much comfort. Because right now, her gratitude was directed to the wrong person. & I hate it. lol. Even if she don't view Jipyeong romantically, I feel she should at least thank him for writing those letters to her during the time when she needed a friend and needed a source of comfort. Ngl I was disappointed that she kinda just brushed it off after knowing the truth. The letters were a huge part of her life so its really weird to me that she would simply ignore the real writer of those letters... & It's quite unfair to Jipyeong who wrote those letters out of pure selflessness (wanting to help Halmeoni and be a friend to Dalmi).

I guess this is personal but I would hate it if I were the one to help out a friend in need only for someone else to get credit for it and I did not receive even a small pinch of gratefulness from that friend. So I don't want that for Jipyeong. hahaha

I hope they won't reduce Jipyeong/Kim Seonho's screen time now that they are trying to accelerate the main couple's romance for the last 6 eps. He's the only reason I'm still watching this tbh. lol.

I want a really good ending for his character. If not, I think I'll riot and it won't just be me but a lot of people. He's a well-loved character.

Anyways, I can't wait for 2020 version of Han Jipyeong to appear. He be looking mighty fine!

I think this is the very first drama which I think I won't mind if it has an open-ending in the romance department. In fact, I think I preferred for it to have an open-ending.

Now that you mentioned it. NDS really does remind me of someone I dated (or currently dating? ah its complicated). I feel like it could be the reason why I'm not as attracted to his character right now. Personally, I felt that some of the actions he has done (such as appearing unannounced when Dal Mi clearly needs space and continued to hover around her even when she said she needed space) triggered some unpleasant experiences I had with this person I'm dating. While it's nice at first that he seems to dedicate most of his time for me, but one day I suddenly felt so suffocated by his attention. It felt like he does not have any other ambitions and goals in life except to just see my face almost every day. He would appear unannounced when I'm not in the mood to meet up. He would hover over me when I need to do my work and study that it's super distracting. When I said that I need space, it felt as if he couldn't really understand what I meant. Let me tell you, it was suffocating and I was not happy in the relationship and it's also the reason why we're currently on a "break" right now because I could not handle it :( and Do San's actions these past episodes really reminded me of that. But of course, this is just my personal opinion on why I am a bit iffy about NDS characterization. It's not that he's a bad person though. He's definitely a good and sweet person and would be a good match for someone who could handle and appreciate his type of love (maybe Dal Mi?). But yeah, his actions unfortunately triggered an unpleasant memory for me so I kind of felt suffocated by him second-handedly. LOL. If you understand what I mean. I guess you could say that I'm not into clingy guys. hahaha

oh wow. i didn't expect him to be older than me. hahaha. i thought he's younger. lol

hmm how is he greedy when he's the most selfless character in this show?

Let's just push all the shipping wars aside. Its essentially Dal Mi's choice to make in the end. & I honestly don't mind any of the guys. Sure, maybe I do have my own preference but both of them have a good heart and like Dal Mi sincerely. So literally she have two good options here. Now it just depends on her heart. Which one she gravitate towards more. I can't believe some of are trying to villainize the other character just to make the other character seem better. Like nah can we not do that? No one is a villain here! The only villain I see is Won In Jae's stepdad! Or even worse some of ya'll trying to victimise the character you favour to gain sympathy points. That just aint it. Lol

One thing I'm thankful about this show is for casting Kim Seon Ho. He's such a gem of an actor. I'm so glad he's getting the recognition he deserves.

Also about those letters and whether it holds as much significance to Ji Pyung as it does to Dal Mi. Here are my thoughts:
He kept those letters over the years. So I think those letters does hold an amount of significance to him. Only that the difference between him and Dal Mi and their attachment to the letters is that Dal Mi sees it romantically and Ji Pyeong sees it as a companionship for his loneliness at that point of time. The letters were his source of comfort at that point of time as well but it was not everything to him as compared to Dal Mi who literally sees it as letters from her 'first love' which is huge so of course it would hold more significance to her. & I think this is the point that most people failed to see. The way I see it is that Dal Mi's letters from 15 years ago was to Ji Pyeong exactly like how Youngshil(the AI) is to Ji Pyeong right now. Someone to talk to about things that he's not openly willing to share with others.